HOME SWEET HOME focuses on the domestic interiors of homes in the streets where Anton Gautama was born and where he lives today. He shows us how he is exhilarated by experimenting with the sensibilities of color and lighting. His concept evolves around capturing traditions that he feels are of social documentary importance—and his choices are justified. To be able to observe the waves of change in everyday life, it takes more than having a photographic eye; it takes a significant amount of stamina and patience but more than anything the photographer must be able to convey their experience. Anton Gautama’s understanding of the places he photographs is not just about the social evidence, but also about deciphering the compositions.

Gautama shares intimate views into where and how ethnic Chinese-Indonesian communities have lived for generations. He is not interested in a room with a view or producing the perfect seductive and dreamy interior design shoot, but he is clear about showing the view of a room. Paradoxically, the liveliness of the space and the inanimate objects are present. Each object has been touched by a hand and often passed on, maybe to the point that it is no longer in use and thus becomes an emblem of a person or an action of the past. If the object can tell a story, the photograph can tell more. It can preserve the object for more eyes to see.

This visual story is a reference to the living quarters of different Chinese-Indonesians based in East Java and South Sulawesi. Anton Gautama—the unexpected visitor—turns these minute impressions into visual statements about time, place, and culture.