Will Kelly is a third year Interior and Spatial Design (ISD) student at UTS. He was selected as part of a small group of Architecture and ISD students to travel to Banda Aceh in Indonesia to investigate theories on Social Spaces. During their time in Banda Aceh, the majority of their work focused upon the Acehnese social dynamics, understanding Sharia Law and learning about how younger generations have positioned themselves ten years removed from the devastating 2004 Indonesian Tsunami. The aim of the studio was to realise opportunities for further creative engagement and expression of youth through speculative urban interventions, specifically addressing local coffee shops. A trip of this nature inherently provides opportunities to work with local students it also allows for comparisons between design approaches and the differences in educational approaches become far more pronounced as students work side by side.

Will cited the effect of religion on daily life to be the most prominent difference between students, working in Australia he was used to a more fluid day in which activities could be undertaken more flexibly, while Indonesian students led more structured daily schedules which generally inhibited progress as work was halted for religious activities. He lamented the stop start nature of their work which theoughout his project had negative effects on both overall progress as well as group morale. The very different backgrounds of respective designers lead to an interesting ongoing dialogue and discrepancy regarding the ability to impact and re define existing practices. Will’s tone certainly suggested frustration with the way his Indonesian counterparts had their hands somewhat tied on any parts of the projects which seemed to encroach upon traditional values. Will suggested the experience gave him a fresh appreciation for the openness of Australian society and he seemed thankful for its lack of positioning as religious nation.Another major difference identified lay in the differences in style of education he and his Indonesia counterparts had undertaken so far.

He understood the Indonesian style of education to focus more on the creation of large structures and schemes and on a broader approach to problems, while UTS emphasises small moments and encounters, thinking about how things are being resolved and challenging those solutions while also considering new methods and ways of separating and merging social and spatial systems. This no doubt stems from the freedom UTS gives in aggressively redefining social norms which the Indonesian students seemed to shy away from. In understanding how the experience will affect him as a designer, Will was unsure, but he was quick to acknowledge the value experiences like his trip to Banda Aceh will have on his breadth of global understanding, and will ensure his approach to problems continues to become more considered as his understanding of the wider global community grows.

Interview with Will Kelly, 20 April 2015.

Images:

Will Kelly Interior Design. Banda Aceh. Viewed 03 May 2015 <http://www.wjkelly.net/new-page/&gt;

As a movie The Raid makes no apologies in being the most brutal action movie you or I have probably ever seen and it combines equal parts brutal fist fighting with heart stopping set pieces and flashes of Pencak Silat – the ancient Indonesian martial art. However, perhaps the most interesting aspect of this movie is the dialogue it launches regarding Indonesian culture, particularly that of organised crime in low socio-economic areas in Jakarta.

Welsh director Gareth Evans expertly brings together the non-stop action movie: The Raid in a no holds barred depiction of the never ending battle between Indonesian police and Jakarta crime families. Since moving to Indonesia in 2009, Evans portrays Indonesia with a poignancy which belies his brief residency. Following Rama (Iko Uwais), the newcomer to a team of special forces police officers, set to raid a high rise apartment complex filled with the grungiest of Jakarta’s organised crime outfits. As Supriyatno (2014) suggests, the setting of a crime movie and the hostile actions of the slum dwellers towards police to be indicative of current attitudes towards Indonesian politicians and bureaucrats(Parker; 2015). Everything appears to be going smoothly as lead officer Wahyu leads his men up through the compendiums until a lookout spots their team and they’re trapped on the seventh floor. As their situation deteriorates it becomes quickly apparent that Wahyu has failed to inform his superiors of their raid and the team realises they are on their own in this mission. What follows is the most visceral roller coaster of action sequences I have ever seen, as Rama fights to escape with the lives of his team. As the odds lengthen all the viewer can do is sit back and watch as Rama bludgeons his way from point A to point B in what shifts from a mission to infiltrate to a race to escape with his and his colleagues’ lives.

Far from being an culture-less action movie The Raid places an unlikely spotlight on the Indonesian martial art: Pencak Silat. Pencak Silat has, similarly to Capoiera in Brazil, evolved from a martial art into a style of dance which has developed to emphasise form over violent. Bouvier (1990) notes Pencak Silat to be a traditionally violent past time with all bouts ending in bloodshed, but in modern times exists as a milder affair which she says serves to provide unique and national character to Indonesians.
The Raid is, at its heart a superficial action movie, but if one were to investigate further they would find interesting details  about traditional Indonesian culture. Most notably is the movie’s focus on Pencak Silat, a focal point of multiple movies directed by Gareth Evans.

Bouvier, H. 1990. ‘Ojung’ and ‘Pencak Silat’: Village and National Sports in Madura. Archipel, Vol 40. Viewed 27 April 2015 <http://isplb03-aux3.semantico.net/abstracts/19921800173.html;jsessionid=1AD570553C44CABCFD79610FA12F34E4>

Parker, B. 2015. INDONESIA: Jakarta Slums Struggle with Sanitation. Irin Humanitarian News. Viewed 28 April 2015 <http://www.irinnews.org/report/88833/indonesia-jakarta-s-slums-struggle-with-sanitation>

Supriyatno, B. 2014. Role of Government in Jakarta Organise Slum Area. Scientific Research Journal (SCIRJ),Vol 2. Viewed 28 April 2015 <http://www.academia.edu/7764782/Role_of_Government_in_Jakarta_Organize_Slum_Area>

The Raid: Redemption. 2011. Motion Picture. Celluloid Dreams, Paris.

Images:

Pride Sports, 2015. Pencak Silat. Viewed 3 May 2015 <http://www.pride-sports.de/blog/pencak-silat >

IMDB, 2015. The Raid. Viewed 6 May 2015

Waste and the effective treatment of waste has been and will continue to be one of the biggest issues faced by our global society. From smallish scale recent pushes to eliminate plastic bags, shown to be successful across parts of Australia, to the quest to eliminate packaging in general waste management has been a hot topic of discussion for many years. Successful shifts in waste management must by necessity be more focused upon shifting mindsets regarding waste management rather then the physical dealings with waste.

One movement to effectively challenge current wasteful produce habits is the French supermarket chain Intermarche. At a 30% discount the supermarket is now selling misshapen fruit and vegetables which would otherwise be thrown away by the supermarket or farmer. Branded as the inglorious fruits and vegetables Intermarche has set out to prove that unsightly produce is just as edible and has should not be hidden even giving the less a’peel’ing products their own section. By celebrating the defective produce Intermarche has inspired confidence in their products and their discount only furthers their viability (Cliff: 2014). The campaign has been a roaring success, within a month it has reached over 13 million people and according to Wilson (2014) has sparked international conversation about the high levels of waste produced in supermarkets.

The value in Intermarche’s initiative cannot be understated, by attacking mindsets regarding food waste, they aim to create meaningful and lasting change. Already other supermarket chains Auchan and Monoprix have launched similar campaigns selling aesthetically challenged produce(Mulholland: 2014). Such an initiative requires no outside funding and actually proves profitable for both farmers and Intermarche as both parties are able to sell on produce that would otherwise be discarded for a discount. According to Duncan (2014) this scheme allows for more fruit to go to supermarkets and would help to combat the 20 – 40% of fruits and vegetables which are thrown out due to their inability to reach the high cosmetic standards of supermarkets.
While Intermarche’s campaign has been successful a long term solution to food wastage will need to be as multi faceted as the problem. According to Schwartz (2014) the most productive path to cutting food wastage will be through the encouragement of food sharing and donation. It is one thing to improve attitudes surrounding visually unappealing fruits and vegetables but finding ways to encourage people to equitably share their food poses a completely unique set of challenges altogether.

Baranowski, M. 2014. Waste Not, Want Not. BBMG. Viewed 20 April 2015 <http://bbmg.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/BBMG_Trends_WasteNot.pdf>

Cliff, M. 2014. Forget the ugli fruit, meet the ugly fruit bowl! French supermarket introduces lumpy and misshapen fruit and vegetables – sold at a 30% discount – to combat food waste. The Daily Mail. Viewed 20 April 2015 <http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/food/article-2693000/Forget-ugli-fruit-meet-ugly-fruit-bowl-French-supermarket-introduces-lumpy-misshapen-fruit-vegetables-sold-30-discount-combat-food-waste.html>

Hower, M. 2013. Kroger Converting Food Waste to Clean Energy To Power Compton Distribution Center. Sustainable Brands Viewed 27 April 2015  <http://www.sustainablebrands.com/>

Mulholland, R. 2014. ‘Ugly’ Fruit ands Vegetables Prove a Hit in France. The Telegraph Viewed 20 April 2015 <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/11131994/Ugly-fruit-and-vegetables-prove-a-hit-in-France.html>

Schwartz, A. 2014. What Grocery Stores can do to Eliminate the Food Waste Problem. Fast Magazine. Viewed 20 April 2015 <http://www.fastcoexist.com/3039421/what-grocery-stores-can-do-to-eliminate-the-food-waste-problem>

Images:

Intermarche 2014, Intermarche – ‘Inglorious Fruits and Vegetables’, videorecording, Vimeo,
viewed 03 May 2014, <https://vimeo.com/98441820&gt;.

Mertens, F. 2014. How to Tackle Food Waste? Sell Ugly Fruit! Expressions That Inspire. Viewed 28 April 2015 <http://expressions-that-inspire.com/how-to-tackle-food-waste-sell-ugly-fruit/&gt;