Ari Rex, Java's love affair with 'clove-scented' cigarettes (Travel (2018))

I loved my visit to Yogyakarta last year, this town is well known for its culture and art. I found a lot of interesting subjects to photograph. One of the things that fascinated me was the cigarette smoking. The rich, aromatic smell of clove-scented cigarettes permeated every street and alley-way. Clove flavored cigarettes known locally as "Kretek" are preferred by 88 % of the population. Tobacco companies have enormous political and financial “clout” in Indonesia, being the government’s largest source of revenue after oil, gas, and timber, and the nation’s second largest employer after the government. Young teenage males in Indonesian culture believe that "If I don't smoke I'm not e real man'', they smoke at work, and especially at night when they gather together. Me and my misses are both non smokers, living in Canberra it’s harder to find people that smoke, so this Javanese trend was striking and I decided to make it my primary story. It was challenging to direct my portrait subjects (due to the language barrier) but with gestures and hand signals I made do. I had a lot of fun in this journey. Javan people are extremely kind and welcoming. I’ve used the 2x3 'landscape' orientation for each image, as I wanted to include as much of the subject’s local environment as I could in each portrait ."

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