Jane Poynter
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY
Jane Poynter was born in Melbourne, Australia in 1962. A photographer and writer, her art practice combines photography with text in large format prints and mixed media installations. Jane completed a PhD from the University of Melbourne in 2007 with large body of work based in outback New South Wales. She has had solo shows in Melbourne and regional Victoria, Broken Hill and Kalgoolie and has participated in groups shows internationally.
Jane lives and works in Melbourne where her clients have included the Melbourne Zoo for whom she produced a series of photographs to support fundraising for the new elephant display.
Websites with my work work (yep, weddings…!)
http://www.facebook.com/MsJanePhotographer
ARTIST'S REASON FOR PARTICIPATING
With an enormous number of species under threat from extinction it is difficult at a personal level to know where to start and to judge how much good your contribution actually does. I jumped at the opportunity to join with other artists to work together on a project where the outcomes of our support are so tangible in providing a safe permanent and natural home for rescued orangutans.
UTAH
From City Forest Curiosity to Clever, Confident Climber
Utah’s story is unlike most. She wasn’t rescued from deep forest captivity or a private cage—but from the Hutan Kota, or “City Forest,” near Ketapang—a tourist attraction that mimicked natural forest but lacked proper resources or safety for a wild orangutan.
Visitors regularly fed her human food, increasing her risk of disease and reinforcing her human-focused behaviour. It's believed Utah had been raised in captivity and later released into the Hutan Kota when her owner realized she was too much to handle. She was very tame and mimicked human actions—evidence she’d spent her early years imitating people instead of learning wild skills.
When IAR finally rescued her, she began a new life at their rehabilitation centre in Ketapang. Utah quickly gained weight and confidence. Her intelligence stood out: she used sticks as tools to get food—or cheekily to steal from her neighbors, Jojo and Jingo.
She now shares an enclosure with Mona and Nicky, two orangutans of similar age. While Nicky can be a bit dominant—sometimes taking Utah’s food or enrichment—Mona plays a gentle “big sister” role, stepping in to keep the peace. The trio often plays, laughs, and chases each other around like sisters, forming bonds that are helping Utah become more of an orangutan again.
Though her path to the forest has been unusual, Utah’s journey is full of promise—and her clever, resilient spirit shines every day.
