When you´ve been part of that whole game called graffiti for quite a while, you´ve most likely had the opportunity to paint a wall on one or the other spots of our planet earth. But being invited to travel to the other side of our planet is not an everyday thing. This meant to get my legs in a not very comfortable position, enjoying some airplane food and staring at a small screen to watch the latest blog busters before arriving to my final destination. Jakarta has about 10 million people and therefore is the biggest city of Southeast Asia and without graffiti I might have never had the chance to hop of a plane there.
After such a long journey you shouldn´t be surprised by certain differences. Boarding the plane hours earlier it was about 2°C, I was wearing a scarf going outside and painting was more about pride and this feeling that you´ve got to do it than enjoying being outside. About 23 hours later it was still 25°C at night. During the day the temperature quickly rose above 30°C and I had a couple of sweat drenched shorts and shirts. Traffic here makes me think that our rush hour is more like a car free Sunday. And food is so spicy that it makes you sweat even more through every single pore of your body. But there is one thing that you can definitely leave at home – stressing about being on time is just not a thing here. You are there when you are there.
But important things first – this trip is all about graff. The scene here in Indonesia is about 15 years old – so first steps have already been made quite a while ago. But those guys here are – similar to the 90ies in Germany – unbelievably hungry, ready to learn, innovative and euphoric. They do have their own can brands – sometimes with the “old” cap system – and tons of little brands producing textiles, prints and jewelry. Unbelievable! The interest in the history and rise of graffiti is huge among the locals and there is a high tolerance and support from their side. No matter if street spot during daylight hours or tags in the streets at night: you rather have to pose for a pic than getting into trouble.
The Garduhouse, who is the main organizer and host of StreetDealin – created an event that does not have to hide from any other event out there. They do work so professional and on an amazing level with social media. There is a really wide range of things going on during this even: starting with the huge walls during the main event, painting awesome spots in the local neighborhoods with their little houses and narrow roads, a big exhibition, parties, skate and custom bike competitions and ending with concerts and a huge market to support local brands. There were interviews and talks and here I am just talking about the official program. Sitting together at night and exchanging experiences and stories, painting street spots at night, going on photo tours and trying local deep fried dishes – all of this was also on our list of things we did. My only German travel partner in crime RAWS from Berlin and I were definitely overwhelmed by all the kindness which we experienced and shaking hands turned into hugs with new friends. We´ve met awesome artist, who we were able to spend a couple of days with and share a wall with and even more awesome people we got to know. I want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart for one of the most amazing and beautiful graffiti experiences I´ve made during the last 15 years. Jakarta – I hope to see you again really soon ….
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