Indonesian Dancing Monkeys

Moved by the upsetting dancing monkey trade in Indonesia Jacha created this thought provoking piece.

Every year, thousands of baby monkeys are taken away from the Indonesian forests and forced to perform tricks for tourists, which leaves them traumatised even after being rescued.Dancing Monkeys or Topeng Monyet in the Indonesian language can be seen on the streets, dressed in human clothes and with dolls heads on, riding bikes or dancing.Once captured the monkeys are chained by their necks and forced to stand upright, they can be kept like this for up to 6 months until they can walk up straight like a human.These animals are so vulnerable and we as humans abuse them for our own benefit, causing them unimaginable trauma. Jacha created this piece in collaboration with photographer Cristian Barnett, the nakedness of the model represents the vulnerability and innocence of the monkeys.One organisation working to help the monkeys is Jakarta Animal Aid, run by Femke Den Haas.www.jakartaanimalaid.com

You can see this piece alongside Jacha’s bushmeat photographs on display at the Platform Galeri.