From 6 to 12, the city bustles non stop. Catering those that work here, and those that lived here. You see the walks of life from your car, from your office window, and from your very own eyes. There's always something more than the surface, it's no...
I was asked that before, in kindergarten. The teacher had us in a chair, in front of us, a table. With a piece of paper, draw what you want to be. Policeman, doctor, pilot, soldier, nurse, teacher, lawyer and youtuber.
Me? I wanted something else, it couldn't be defined by my teachers in veils. They called my mom, and told her about what I drew.
"He's got a problem, he daydreams and imagines so much... I've observed his behavior, he prefers drawing over everything else. You need to control your child Mrs. Rahma"
I was drawing in the table, I didn't know about what they said until my mom told me. She looked at me with her round eyes sided with such round glasses, gazing towards me deep in thought.
"I don't mean to offend you, Mrs. Rahma." My mother than gazed back at my teacher, and looked down at my drawing. What I wanted to be.
"Ms. Nur, I shall do my best to guide my child." "Thank you Mrs. Rahma."
That is exactly what my mother did, goal in mind.
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"Add some depth for the machines." I shook the cannisters and sprayed the paint generously. "Our client wanted it to look as realistic as possible."
I pulled another can from my bag, and popped it open, with my fingers I pressed the button. I walked back and forth and moved my hand consistently, dragging colors around to create beautiful drawings.
Encircling the stairs going towards a brand new cafe, our client wanted to make a steampunk themed bistro, and with a spiralling stairwell leading up. Going upwards towards a blimp overlooking Kemang, South Jakarta. That's the concept.
Personally, my favorite part of the job was that I can crank up loud music, being in the stairway, I guess there's one music that could suit the time.
"Ernest, play Led Zeppelin." "I like your style~" he shouted, and played the song on Spotify.
"Ooh, it makes me wonder~" I sang, as I made the structure neater "Ooh, it really makes me wonder~"
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My name is Mandala, I'm an urban artist and a man specialized in graffiti. Some people would call us modern avast garde artists, while others would call us hooligans pestering city property. I work with my buddy Ernest, a fellow urban street artist from NYU and Zaky, a designer from the University of Indonesia. Me myself, I'm from the Bandung Institute of Technology.
