3D Kampong Transforms City’s Face

One month after it went viral on social media, visitors and selfie freaks continued to visit Kampung 3 Dimensi in Sukmajaya, Depok.

Kompas/Amanda Putri

Visitors take photographs on Sunday (19/11) standing atop a 3-dimensional illustration of a crosswalk in Kampung 3D on Jl. Danau Tondano in Abadi Jaya subdistrict of Sukmajaya district, Depok. The creative initiative of its youths has changed the face of Kampung 3D, turning it into a colorful and inspirational tourist spot.

One month after it went viral on social media, visitors and selfie freaks continued to visit Kampung 3 Dimensi on Jl. Danau Tondano Raya in Abadi Jaya subdistrict, Sukmajaya, Depok. One visitor even went to the place three times to take the perfect selfie.

People are still in love with selfies. The willingness to exist for eternity meets with symbiosis in Kampung 3 Dimensi, or Kampung 3D.

Dessy, 35, a resident of Sukatani, Tapos district, went to the kampong with her three relatives on Sunday (19/11). This was her third time visiting Kampung 3D. “I am still curious. I want to take photos again to get the best pictures. A relative came from Palembang and I brought her along,” she said.

Dessy’s relative Hetty, 45, who comes from Palembang, South Sumatra, was curious after seeing Kampung 3D on social media. Thus, while she was in Depok, she was driven to visit the place and take a selfie. On Sunday, they were excited and enthusiastic, even though they had to line up and wait for their turn to get a selfie on a 3D crosswalk that looks as though it is floating.

A group of youngsters was patiently waiting for their turn to take a selfie with a picture of a boat. Ismi, 19, said she was initially confused about how to take a selfie.

“It does not look 3D like on social media. Later, I realized the picture should be taken from the right angle. Otherwise, the photo looks weird,” she said.

Local residents helped visitors to find the correct spot to get the 3D effect. Some marks had been made so visitors could take photos with the best results.

That day, visitors flooded the street. All of them came to take selfies and swarmed from one spot to another. Another visitor would soon take their place. They admitted that they heard of Kampung 3D from Facebook.

Learning from the internet

Yuli, 35, who came from Cimanggis, Depok, with her husband and children, said Kampung 3D was an inexpensive attraction. Depok only had a few inexpensive attractions. “There are city parks in certain locations, but there’s nothing special about them. This is interesting, even though it’s only a street,” she said.

To be near the 3D images is different. Pedestrians and motorcyclists will instantly slow down and avoid the gaping pothole in the street, when in fact, it is only an illustration.

Mohammad Nur Alam, 33, chairman of youth organization Karang Taruna in the RW 003 neighborhood of Abadi Jaya subdistrict, said the youths who made the drawings were surprised that their creations went viral.

In September, Jl. Danau Tondano was renovated. “Previously, there were speed bumps to make motorcyclists slow down. After the renovation, the speed bumps disappeared. So, we tried something different,” Alam said.

So they started to draw a 3D painting on the street, the floating crosswalk. Without any special expertise, they drew with the help of the internet. “We drew it first using chalk. Then, we applied color while ensuring the 3D effect by using a camera,” Alam said.

For the paint, they used white as the base. Then, they applied other pigments of different colors. It was too expensive to buy colored paint.

Initially, they drew only two paintings, the crosswalk and the pothole. Later, they found new ideas and made 10 drawings on the street and three on the walls of houses. They spent Rp 1.7 million of the organization’s money and donations from residents. Now, because of the many visitors and the rains, they have had to redo the drawings. The money comes from the visitors’ parking fees.

“The idea was to make motorcyclists careful when passing along the street, because there are many children. We did not expect this would go viral on social media and become a tourist spot,” Alam said.

KOMPAS/AMANDA PUTRI

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Give room

Nurwenda, head of RW 003 neighborhood in Abadi Jaya subdistrict, said the neighborhood community leaders provided space for youths to be creative. The result is the young people created something that raised the kampong’s renown. “The other thing is that the residents do not mind the street becoming crowded. We support each other. The residents are willing to take a different street if this one is too crowded,” he said.

Nurwenda said he hoped the activity would receive support from the Depok government. After it went viral, the kampong residents have to maintain the Kampung 3D concept, whether they were ready or not. For example, one thing the local residents need right now is a cover for the drains, so they do not pose a danger to visitors.

Alam and his pals are excited to realize their work is appreciated. “Many people are surprised. Depok, which was known to be the home of motorcycle gangs and robbers has, in fact, young men with positive mindsets. I hope this positivity can influence others,” he said.

Alam said he had been asked to cooperate with other organizations to provide training and workshops to do the same thing in other areas. He hoped Depok would have more creative public spaces.

Aside from becoming a haven for selfies, the revitalization of the kampong could be turned into a platform for meeting and promoting social interaction that, as many have said, has become eroded in urban life.