WIDURI: FAR FROM
THE MADDING CROWD

Since March 2020, I have taken a lot of documentary photos in Pemalang, which is quiet without the hustle and bustle of the crowd. This new routine was carried out while cycling and sunbathing in the morning and evening, until the new normal rules began to be fully implemented in October 2020. This portrait eventually became a photo series, as well as my response to the Covid-19 pandemic that occurred in Indonesia, especially Pemalang. I want to give an overview of something that is nothing and abstract, as well as the absence of social interaction in the public sphere and emptiness from my personal point of view.
 

This photo series was taken at Widuri Beach in April 2020. The lockdown regulations causing of Covid-19 pandemic at that time were a new thing in Pemalang, which eventually turned off activities at several crowded points including tourist attractions. I saw several visitors who wanted to visit there, but were disappointed when they saw that the entrance to the beach was covered by a portal.

Seeing Widuri's situation at that time made me feel foreign. Dozens of stalls were abandoned by their owners, leaving piles of unattended visitor chairs. The road around the beach was also flooded by rob. Plastic waste and leaves mixed in the road and beach areas waiting to be cleaned up. This condition continues until fasting and Eid arrives. Now, Widuri has been busy again even though the risk of Corona transmission still exists and is large. Let's just pray that the people who depend on this Widuri will continue to be given health until the risk of transmitting the virus is really reduced.