NSFW

Erotic Photography In Indonesia

By Jan Van Tienen

We recently met Wulan Mei Lina, a 31-year-old photographer who takes erotic pictures in Indonesia, one of the World's least sex-friendly places. From what we can tell, Indonesians hate sex in general, but they are particularly averse to the the fun, whips and dildos and random partner kind, so it's a tough place for people like her--who are into S&M and drinking and taking photos of naked people--to live.

There have been two Indonesian sex "scandals" recently. The editor of Playboy's Indonesian edition is probably going to be thrown in jail for publishing the magazine over there (a rather important side note is that the Indonesian edition of Playboy doesn't have nudity in it), and a pop singer named Ariel is awaiting trial because his private sex tape was stolen and sold all over the country. Those types of insane judicial actions are just one way the predominantly Muslim government shows off its firm dedication to the chaste ideals of ultra-conservative Islam.

Wulan is in Holland right now because she's exhibiting her photos in gallery HAAGS in The Hague. We met up with her for a chat about her work and what it's like to take sexy pictures in Indonesia.

Vice: Hello Wulan, where are you from?
Wulan: I’m from the city of Surabaya, on the island of Java. Surabaya is the second largest city in Indonesia, but it's not very free. There are too many Muslims. It's very conservative.

Were you raised conservatively?
My mother is from a military family. On her side my grandfather was a commandant in the army, but he's dead. On my father's side my grandfather was an imam. I come from a Muslim family originally, but when I was a kid my mother converted to Christianity.