Lucas Leo Catalano

Photographer
Tirtha Tirtha
 
Public Project
Tirtha Tirtha
Copyright Lucas Leo Catalano 2025
Updated Dec 2024
Location Bali
Topics Spotlight
Summary
The series Tirtha Tirtha is a portrait of Bali taken from a perspective that is sceptical of there being an "authentic" Bali. Challenging the outdated visual identity of Bali that has become synonymous with tourism propaganda and post-colonial vanity. Instead, exploring the ineffable feeling that being in Bali uniquely evokes.

Tirtha Tirtha presents a perspective on the Balinese identity that is skeptical of there being a single "authentic" Bali today. Challenging the outdated visual identity that has become synonymous with tourism propaganda, post-colonial vanity, and populist rhetoric. Instead presenting a relativist's take to what Bali is, arguing how one's personal relationship to the island shapes their views on how they identify Balinese-ness. To illustrate the photographs frame water as the placeholder for Bali, a visual device that reveals how the verities of peoples found on the island relate in their own individual way to Bali. From the chlorinated pools for resort tourist, the holy spring waters for village pilgrims, the urban flood waters for inner city commuter, and the agrarian irrigation for rice terrace farmers. Presenting portraits to broaden our empathy for different perspectives of Bali, and landscapes to examine our own relationship with place and identity.

- Sovereign Art Foundation Asian Art Prize nominee 2025
- Australian Photography Awards Documentary category Finalist 2024
- B&W International Photography Awards Honourable Mention 2024

Register your interest for the book's release in late 2025
Tirtha Tirtha menyajikan perspektif tentang identitas Bali yang skeptis terhadap keberadaan Bali yang "asli" saat ini. Menentang identitas visual yang sudah ketinggalan zaman yang telah menjadi sinonim dengan propaganda pariwisata, kesombongan pascakolonial, dan retorika populis. Sebaliknya, menyajikan pandangan relativis tentang Bali, dengan mengemukakan bagaimana hubungan pribadi seseorang dengan pulau tersebut membentuk pandangan mereka tentang cara mereka mengidentifikasi ke-Bali-an. Untuk mengilustrasikan, foto-foto tersebut membingkai air sebagai tempat penampung Bali, perangkat visual yang mengungkapkan bagaimana kebenaran masyarakat yang ditemukan di pulau tersebut berhubungan dengan Bali dengan cara mereka sendiri. Dari kolam yang mengandung klorin untuk wisatawan resor, mata air suci untuk peziarah desa, air banjir perkotaan untuk komuter dalam kota, dan irigasi pertanian untuk petani sawah. Menyajikan potret untuk memperluas empati kita terhadap berbagai perspektif tentang Bali, dan lanskap untuk memeriksa hubungan kita sendiri dengan tempat dan identitas.

- Sovereign Art Foundation Asian Art Prize nominee 2025
- Australian Photography Awards Documentary category Finalist 2024
- B&W International Photography Awards Honourable Mention 2024

Register your interest for the book's release in late 2025
1,148

Also by Lucas Leo Catalano —

Project

KaraOKOKOK?

Lucas Leo Catalano / perth
Project

Romani Camp Children

Lucas Leo Catalano
Project

Anti-Bush Jr. Riots

Lucas Leo Catalano
Project

Jerusalemme

Lucas Leo Catalano
Project

Phobophobia

Lucas Leo Catalano / Margret River, Australia
Project

Pan-Indonesian Labour in Bali

Lucas Leo Catalano / Bali
Project

A Journey Through Second Life

Lucas Leo Catalano / Second Life
Tirtha Tirtha by Lucas Leo Catalano
Sign-up for
For more access