Tanpa Izin by Ohemaa Dixon

Tanpa Izin is a meditation presented as a photo book on western imagery of tourist destinations. Roughly translating in Bahasa Indonesia to “without permission”; Dixon takes a gaze on the arrogance often employed in documenting an “other” in the travel photography genre. As a Black woman often on the other side of “otherness”, Dixon sought to take images with nuance documenting a place that was not her own, appreciating its beauty in a quiet tone. 

Unlike the arrogance in many other projects in the canon and genre of travel photography, Tanpa Izin firmly states that it is not an answer or anything close to a full picture, rather a discreet look at the island’s beauty from the back of a motorbike. Critically looking at the voyeurism often employed in commissions of this work, her images invite audiences into another view on the island of Bali, Indonesia. Often blurred or immaculately intimate, the images allow for a different and more nuanced lens compared to how the island is idealized in aggressive tourism photography that seeks to monetize it. 

• Softcover: 64 pages
• Publisher: Catastrophe Media (September 1, 2020)
• Language: English
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 11 inches