It is the work of Mohammad Taufiq, the illustrator invited by PT MRT (Mass Rapid Transit) Jakarta (Perseroda) to cooperate in brightening up the tunnel wall.
By
Helena F Nababan
·5 minutes read
HELENA FRANSISCA NABABAN
Mohammad Taufiq
A new spectacle appears as we pass through the Kendal tunnel from the direction of Sudirman Station. Our eyes will immediately be magnetized by paintings depicting people and all their activities.
As soon as we step out of Sudirman KRL (electric commuter train) Station at the mouth of the Kendal tunnel, bright colors can be seen adorning the wall of the tunnel, especially on the right side. The wall, 36 meters long and 4.5 m high, is packed with paintings portraying the bustle of urban people.
It is the work of Mohammad Taufiq, the illustrator invited by PT MRT (Mass Rapid Transit) Jakarta (Perseroda) to cooperate in brightening up the tunnel wall. For Emte, as Mohammad Taufiq’s is intimately called, who was born and raised in Jakarta, acquiring the trust to collaborate with an urban public transportation company like MRT Jakarta is certainly worthwhile. Growing up side-by-side with the transformation of Jakarta, he has followed and understood Jakarta’s dynamism, so it was not hard for him to get an idea for further conversion into a mural on the tunnel wall.
The wall serving as a canvas for his paintings is located in a transit zone in the Kendal tunnel, Central Jakarta. The tunnel, which was previously a highway later covered to facilitate access for pedestrians and public transportation passengers to change their travel modes, is certainly crowded.
Interestingly, the passersby display their respective types of character.
Hundreds of thousands of pedestrians simply walking along as well as train and bus passengers transiting and changing modes pass through the tunnel every day. Interestingly, the passersby display their respective types of character.
It may be that the appearance of every individual passing by indicates the kind of activity being engaged in every day. This represents everyone’s typical characteristic.
“When I use public transportation, also when I’m in this zone, I notice many people passing by. A closer look shows that people of all kinds of character can be found here,” said Emte in a talk with Kompas some time ago.
For the man born on 15 March 1979, the various types of human character represent Jakarta -- the dynamism of Jakarta. That is why, according to Emte, Jakarta is not only the National Monument, bajaj (three-wheeled taxis) or ondel-ondel (folk-performance effigies).
“I want the people busy with their activities in this area to feel related to the mural I have created,” said the Visual Communication Design graduate of the Jakarta Institute of Arts (IKJ).
HELENA FRANSISCA NABABAN
Mohammad Taufiq
Consequently, people passing through the tunnel pause for a moment to have a look or even take photos of the mural or themselves. They watch the images of people of the actual human size in typical working uniforms, in costumes of sports, pictures of office employees, online foods and drinks or goods couriers as well as school students and disabled groups. The mural seems to represent each of their activities and types of character.
This trick perks up the atmosphere in the dim tunnel.
Emte took only a week to finish the work. After being contacted by MRT Jakarta in early June 2022, he started painting on the wall, which is 4.5 meters high and 36 m long, on 14 June 2022.
“It was quite a brief job. But the working hours were intense -- from midnight to midday,” added Emte.
The paintings look livelier because Emte purposely applied bright colors. This trick perks up the atmosphere in the dim tunnel.
Long begun
Emte’s involvement in mural painting actually began in 1999, when he studied visual communication design at the IKJ. He is of course knowledgeable about mural art.
His mural painting started when, along with his four peers, he received an offer to paint the wall of Mekarsari Fruit Park in Bogor, West Java. “At the time, I was offered the opportunity to paint the wall with the picture of a basket containing all kinds of fruits against a background of the sky,” he related.
With five people painting together, the job was easier to do. “We divided our tasks. One of us painted base colors; two handled the finishing, two others the sky. There we learned how to paint on a wall and how to manage such a vast surface,” he said, recalling his initial mural painting experience.
HELENA FRANSISCA NABABAN
Mohammad Taufiq
From the work, said Emte, he got to know how to face the challenge of mural painting with an extensive medium. He also learned about teamwork with members who had specialized functions to produce an attractive mural.
“Later, mural-painting offers were flowing in,” he revealed.
Besides the Kendal tunnel wall, Emte has painted the dynamism of Jakarta in other public spaces of Jakarta. In 2018, he painted a mural in RPTRA Kalideres (child-friendly public space), West Jakarta, during a mural festival.
He also demonstrated live drawing at London Book Fair-Indonesia Market Focus 2019 by using the wall as a medium. Emte has several times joined mural painting forums and displays at home and overseas, such as the Indonesia-Korea Culture Exchange Exhibition in Incheon Square 1 Culture Hall, Korea (2021). He also followed Talent Art Fair in the United Kingdom (2020) and Indonesia Calling in Australia (2020).
Through his mural in the Kendal tunnel, Emte hopes to express the hope that Jakarta can transform into a city that is friendly to everybody. Jakarta can also be a convenient city via the availability of public spaces accessible by everybody, in any physical condition. One of the efforts to provide such convenient public spaces is the development of public transportation and transit-oriented zones.
Mohammad Taufiq
Nickname: Emte
Born: Jakarta, 15 March 1979
Exhibitions: Two solo exhibitions and no less than nine joint exhibitions, among others in Korea, London and Singapore
