The Banda Journal / Jurnal Banda

The Banda Journalhighlights the legacy of centuries-long colonization and exploitation in the remote Indonesian Banda Islands. An archipelago of twelve small islands surrounded by a vast sea, Banda was the site of some of the first European ventures in Asia and has played a key role in global economic history. That’s because Banda was once the world’s only source of the highly prized nutmeg, an aromatic spice used as a preservative and considered a cure for various diseases in the Middle Ages. The race for the precious spices led the Portuguese to sail to the Cape of Good Hope, led Christopher Columbus to discover America, and saw the birth of the world’s first multinational trading company: the Dutch East India Company. In Banda, as in many other places, the race for spices brought misery to the islanders. And today, the Banda Islands are nothing more than a backwater.

From 2014 to 2017, photographer Muhammad Fadli and writer Fatris MF documented the stories of the Banda Islands through repeated visits and sojourns. The result is a book filled with photographs combined with writings, hoping to give an insightful view of the different facets of life on the islands, its past and its current state.

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Winner of the 2021 Photobook of The Year Aperture Foundation, Paris Photo Photobook Award

Finalist–Independent Category Lucie Foundation Photobook Prize 2021

TIME 20 Photobook of The Year 2021