Sunday morning, November 28, found me and my fellow ARMY friend standing in front of the above painting, which was created by a 16-year-old Georgius William Goldwin K. at the “Art for Autism Creativity and Self-love” exhibition.
Located in Jakarta, Indonesia, this exhibition was part of the “The Sun Never Sets (In Our World)” event, a collaboration between Hadiprana Art Center, Bintang Ungu Charity Community, and Sahabat Kak Toto — a multitalented artist and painting teacher. “Art of Autism Creativity and Self-love” showcased over 20 paintings by neurodivergent youths under the theme of “Epiphany.”
“The Sun Never Sets is a celebration of a long journey in finding self-acceptance in life. In a moment of epiphany, we see a glimpse of heavenly luminescence, a fleeting yet poignant grace that heals all pain and hurt.” Kak Toto
Setting foot on the first floor, over ten “Abyss” and “Moon” inspired paintings welcomed us. Varying from childlike innocence to ocean-deep paintings, the first thought that comes to mind was “how amazing it is, for art to be interpreted in different ways yet still embracing the core of its existence.”
We were lucky to be among the first 20 people to visit the exhibition that day and receive a Jin photocard. After writing down our names and showing our tickets, we took some time to pose with Jin’s standing cut-out near the entrance. Across the photo zone, several paintings of Jin with different backgrounds and doodles were pleasing to our eyes. But we didn’t stay long, as our attention was caught by the message booth.
A week before, as we registered, the event asked us to write letters to encourage the artists participating at the event. There were two boxes at the message booth: one for us to drop our letters and the other for us to drop our worries and concerns that we need to let out. They provided pretty stationary and pens for those who hadn't prepared their letter beforehand. Fast forward two weeks later, we received an email asking for an address for them to send us a gift as a thank you: a Jin poster.
The guide then led us to the main room that housed over ten paintings. Once again, we were very lucky to find there were only two other ARMYs besides us. Coming into the room, one particular painting stole my attention. It’s called “Wajah Wajah” or “Faces” in English. The description tells of the masks — or the “faces” — that the “I” has to have to make someone else happy, to the point that the “I” has forgotten the true form of themselves. But, to end it on a lighter note, the “I” mentioned how making others happy is the person’s way to become happy themselves.
“Wajah Wajah (Faces)”
The paintings that I admired the most were “Animal Friendship” by 22 year-old Raisaa Alyya Rizqi, and “Noah’s Ark” by a 20 year-old Claire Nicole S. But we couldn’t miss the biggest painting there, called “Cherry Blossom Welcome the Morning Sun” by 12 year-old M. Salman Farisyi. Instead of the artists leaving a message, it was the artists’ parents, mentioning their journey of raising a neurodivergent youth, and how they’ve accepted and love their son the way he is.
We ended our journey at the merchandise booth made by the same painters. There were bags, mugs, clothes, books, and even masks. Right before we left, something caught my eyes. It was a tumbler flask with my favorite “Cherry Blossom Welcome the Morning Sun” painting as the decoration, which we can see from the picture on the left. I couldn’t resist and purchased it right away, happy to finally do something to support the artist.
Overall, it was a meaningful experience. We might have shed a tear or two at the beauty and the meaning of the paintings, even more, when we read the messages they left about the paintings. Each brush stroke was made with purpose, each color was chosen very carefully, each shape was created to further emphasize the message. As cheesy as it sounds, it gave me an epiphany about how art is for everyone, and the limit is only ourselves — that the journey of self-love could be told in many ways.
I’m looking forward to more events like this in the future. Special thank you to ARMY Help Center Indonesia for introducing and explaining this event to me.
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Written By: RAM
Edit By: Aury
Checked By: Juju