Mpu Uteun: The Leaves Remember Her Name
Featuring works by Yoppy Pieter (Indonesia)
Recipient of the Truth Seeker Foundation Prize
Curated by Tom White
On the edge of Mount Leuser National Park, one of Southeast Asia’s most important rainforest ecosystems, lies the small village of Damaran Baru, home to the women-led rangers of Mpu Uteun – “the one who owns the forest” in the local Gayo language.
Led by Sumini, their elected chairwoman, Mpu Uteun aim to put an end to illegal logging, hunting and deforestation. In addition to patrolling the 251-hectare Damaran Baru forest reserve, they encourage sustainable agroforestry in their community. Since 2017, together with their husbands and local youth, they have succeeded in significantly reducing deforestation through reforestation and community forest patrols.
Mpu Uteun are particularly significant given Aceh’s unique status as the only Indonesian province governed by Islamic Sharia law. In their role as active stewards of the forest, these women navigate deeply rooted patriarchal norms as they work to preserve the precious biodiversity of their environment. The success of the group speaks to the critical value of centering women in forest management.
Presented by Objectifs
Supported by the Truth Seeker Foundation
Curated by Parallax
Exhibition
Objectifs Courtyard
Related Events
Artist Talk | Yoppy Pieter: Seeing with compassion
Objectifs Annexe
Sat 11/4/2026, 1.30pm
Free Admission
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About the artist
Yoppy Pieter is a visual storyteller and educator based in Jakarta, Indonesia. He shoots a diverse range of subjects with an intimate and poetic aesthetic. Yoppy has participated in workshops such as Angkor Photo Workshop (2012), South-East Asia & Oceania 6×6 Global Talent Program by World Press Photo Foundation (2017) and was the first Indonesian to attend the Joop Swart Masterclass by World Press Photo Foundation (2019).
In 2018, Yoppy co-founded Arkademy, the educational platform which aims to promote and encourage the use of photography as a creative medium in critiquing the self, society and the relations that arise between the two. He also developed Heterogenic, an Instagram platform that embraces the diversity and the richness of Indonesian visual culture, while sharing and discussing ideas with Indonesian photographers.
His works have been published in Washington Post, Monocle, Neue Zuercher Zeitung, Bali & Beyond, National Geographic Indonesia, and DestinAsian Indonesia. He has also collaborated with Unicef Indonesia & Ikea Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation – Waiting For Health, and Document Our History Now. Additionally, he has exhibited his work at Jakarta Photo Summit #3 (2014), Jakarta Biennale (2015), Photography for Tolerance and Diversity (2017), Mt Rokko International Photo Festival (2018), and SPECTROSYNTHESIS II exhibition (2019).
About the Curator
Tom White is a freelance photographer, editor at Parallax Photo Journal, curator, educator and artist currently based in Southeast Asia.
He is engaged in exploring the potential of transdisciplinary documentary methods, with an emphasis on the nexus of environmental, political and social issues under the concept of Planetary Health.
About the truth seeker foundation
The Truth Seeker Foundation believes that education and enlightenment are the best ways to address many of the social issues we face today. Amongst the many causes the Foundation supports, it advocates for raising awareness of social and environmental issues through photography.