Project Puan
Portrait Project of 100 Indonesian Women
Project Background:
With a country as diverse as Indonesia, 1,300 ethnic groups spread out in 6000 island, we would expect a diversity in beauty representation. However, that wasn’t the case in fashion and beauty industry. Magazine editorials and advertisements for beauty products that focus on the brightness of skin color and certain body type; television shows that show the superiority of those with brighter colored skin, are only a few examples that we can see.
Now that we all have easy access to seeing ads, brands, even the life of celebrities or influencers on social media platforms, the pressures have grown, and the impacts on our mindset at well.
We constantly see thousands of Instagram accounts promote images of perfectly sculpted men and women. While we may believe we are mindlessly scrolling though such content, our subconscious is soaking it all up and before we know it, those perfectly formed bodies have become the standard by which we measure everything else.
One of the aim in this Project is to remind all women that being dark skinned shouldn't give anyone an inferiority complex, and being fair doesn't make anyone more beautiful. Being slim or size zero should never be considered the gold standard for being beautiful. Aging is not an expiry of beauty.
The beauty of us women is that we come in many shapes and sizes. Your body, your skin, your hair, is beautiful, balanced and valid just like everyone else’s.
This Portrait Project is an effort to remind us of, and to celebrate the diversity of beauty of all ethnic group, skin color, body type, age and beyond physical characteristics – the strength within every Indonesian woman. Our hope is that these powerful portraits will help build confidence amongst women of all ages and inspire unity. The project, using the visual arts, celebrates the exquisite beauty of our diverse nation and seeks to tell the story of each woman, the story that makes them beautiful beyond any physical traits.
Project Puan is supported by Lightroom
Photography: Nicoline Patricia Malina
Fashion Stylist: Lizda Fathia
Beauty Team: Rommy Andreas, Teddy Lim, Hanung Budiarti, Eva Pical, Nooi Beauty, Novia Diah Trisela, Rose, Charles Sebastian, Leonardus Y, Grace G. Sianipar, Laksari, Vanesha Ayu
Stylist Assistants:
Location : Arjuna Studio, NPM Studio
Videographers: Ade Arifianto, Vivien Nathania, Welly Dosen
Production: NPM Photography
