memento mori

designing wealth / menata harta / noto wastu

is an installation by monokroma architect at NAIFest, Indobuildtech 2022, designed and built to exhibit the qualities, performance, and potentials of these three recycled materials: Husk Recycled Plastic Composite, LDPE pressed sheet, and Misel Tex. (for more:

it was personal, for me. to get in touch with these precious waste, I feel like The Batman.. (who are you? "Vengeance") haha.. -pardon me.

but really. it wasn't my first time jumping into an idea. but to get it done, along with these amazing minds, i never thought it could be real. so much learning;

1. the bigger goal can always move people, make sure everyone has the same one in mind

2. it's important to set things straight between parties, up in the front; the roles and responsibilities, the schedule, the expectation

3. delegate! set the chain of command! - you are not Naruto!

my next step is.. to get these materials into real buildings ;D fingers crossed!

this is one of the books that i hope can be in any school libraries in Indonesia, showing how history does not have to be a single canonical narrative; but of multiple perspectives.

this is a story of one chinese family in Pati (and Semarang), Central Java, Indonesia, during around the independence era of the country (1940-1955).

the writer, Rinaldy Sudyatmiko, is the son of the youngest in the family, making this piece a biographical and historical at the same time. reading this piece, my mind wonders -and i'm sure yours will too when u read it-, where were my parents and grandparents at that time? how were they? how did they get through it?

the second thing that keeps coming to my head is that... this book can be adapted into a form of script so that more people can experience it through a form of theatre performance! the more people feel this subjective journey, the more people can be triggered to complete our history.. it reminds me of the story of the six blind men, trying to identify an elephant..

Also, other than getting myself a bowl of misoa (for the long life ahead), today i learned about my monetary status -quite an adult thing to do, right?

Bumi Langit (not the production house that produced Gundala the Movie), is a permaculture practice in Southern mountain of Yogyakarta. Owned by Pak Iskandar and family, it hosts people who live sustainably in accordance with nature. surprisingly, there wasn't as many mosquitoes as we'd imagined. nice all-natural breakfast, complete with the heart-warming conversation we had with the owners themselves. Special thanks to Mas Tantra who invited me to come with him to the "field" as he was "catching the soil" ;)

the second day, we visited Pak Eko Prawoto's house, which is rather to the north west of the city. it's full of creative energy, so fun, yet calm and humble.

from there he took us to his "warung" (kiosk), which was luxurious with its own river. one among many that fascinated me was this stone frame. this is a real 3D painting!

fortunately, we managed to visit Rumah Atsiri at Tawangmangu. this piece of the same architect, Paulus Mintarga, was beneficially smart! it's about time for a site, so rich with nature and culture, to be celebrated this way; people can come to this place, formerly citronella factory, to not only experience but also to educate themselves about the subject matter: essential oils.

before we moved on to Yogya, we managed to visit Batik Keris. Amazing how this once abandoned building got reused. now it holds not only batik, but all the ambience that go with it: architecture, furniture, and the pride of the people.

btw, the picture on the right reminds me of Christo and Jeanne-Claude's "Arc de Triomphe, Wrapped". only that this one is to prevent bats from entering the abandoned building for it to be renovated.

speaking of art.. another anecdote from Solo is this experience when waiting for sate kambing (lamb satay). it reminds me of Olafur Eliasson's "Tunnel of Fog" 😜 #pardonme

from the host in the Dancing Mountain, we are told that there's this upcyler called Sapu Upcyling. they made more durable products using used tires, one of which: outdoor wall.

next, we stopped by at some Ary Indra's works: local mosques

9-12 dec, semarang: pretty amazed by the development and cleanliness of its old town (Kota Lama); love the scale of this area!

felt sorry yet stunned by one hotel across Stasiun Tawang called Pelangi Indah, "you, such an old good quality building, are deserved to be renovated better, man!" ; this is the view from the hotel's fourth floor balcony...

like this famous old market, Pasar Johar by Thomas Karsten. although is not the same great as how it was before the fire, it looks much much much better than when i visited it in 2017.

moving on to some new projects, how nicely disorienting yet functional this cafe called "Lika-Liku Coffee" is of no question; but i learned about the VOID too! in this picture, my phone camera on the second floor was looking up to the skylight that reflected where we were sitting and the void to the first floor

in another project, by the same architect, Ady Putra, it was clear to me that: a site is the source of identity for its architecture. it's the newest building of Forme Factory complex, a site where Forme produces its kayu jati furnitures, imported world wide.

we met Oscar Randy, one of our first alumni, now the head of Osara, a humble emerging architeure firm in the city. he showed us how he turned Marabunta, then a sugar factory, to now such a hype restaurant and bar.

we even unintendedly stayed at a hotel, Mahima, that he designed when he was still in his previous firm. i found this adorable cat, calling this facade her home.

last but not least, a huge thanks to our fellow lecturer at Universitas Pelita Harapan, pak Dani Hermawan, his wife, Imma, and their four beautiful minions. such a nice breakfast; i love your veranda!

jakarta, an Indonesian city of infrastructure,

a "just laugh about it" gestures,

these are the teaching he gives only to people who has the patience to just listen, instead of asking for this and that..

but...

Today is the last day of Bumi Rumah Kita: an exhibition by Sejauh Mata Memandang, at Senayan City, Jakarta.

Malls are still the most visited public space for many Jakarta citizens. Tbh, I never thought that there would be people coming to a mall to store their non-organic waste. Turned out, yesterday a lady came in and asked me if the exibition will still be on next week. i said no. she said, "ah too bad. i forgot to bring mine today."

You know, this makes me feel pretty hopeful about our resilience against this global crisis.

(My friends on the last picture were trying to extend the exhibition through a dance performance video.)

Indonesia just had its 76th birthday. i took these photos during my trip to get my friend her second vaccine at Gelora Bung Karno (it's a sport complex initiated by Soekarno, built in 1962).

Anyway.. my country, or to be exact, my city Jakarta is (still) okay, with people fighting for their economy on their own, as always, down the street, with or without health protocols..

The trees are also (still) scarce, only exist in particular areas with minimal open ground for its soil to breathe.

It is my country. Just because i was somehow born here, in this particular geography, with its social, political and economic circumstances.

and maybe just like the concept of family.. even without knowing why we are born in one exact family, we love them.

i hope we are getting better, Indonesia.

Healthy birthday!

Donald Duck is my first cartoon character crush. Whenever i was asked whether i like Mickey Mouse, i'd say "aku suka donal bebek." Not only that he's funny, he is too super determined and kind-hearted.

But tonight, I bring him up along with his cousin, Gladstone Gander, (whom in Indonesian version is called: Untung Angsa, Untung means Lucky) because i wanna talk about "confidence."

In this picture, both Untung and Donal look confident about their stance. Untung, believing in his luck, doesn't need to try so hard to gain success (in this case money).. while Donal, being really sure of himself, he's always rather unfortunate.

But do you see what i like about Donal?

His confidence is not from without, but within. That way, no one can take it away from him. Whilst Untung is too good to be true, Donal is easy to relate to because i believe, deep inside all of us, shall we listen closely to our own heart, there must be that confidence that whispers confidently, "hey, you know yourself the best, listen to you!"

Combined with his 3 other characters i mentioned before, shall there be anything Donal can do to improve his success rate, is his attentiveness to the world around him.

these are the three snapshots i have of my (younger) brother marrying Poulomi, his junior PhD student when they first met. i can't be happier :)