Aku, Kita dan Semesta

After weeks of separation, my best friends and I finally had a chance to reunite. It feels like it's been years since the last time I saw them. This opportunity came in the form of Pasar Seni ITB 2014, which my best friend Gina happens to be a part of. Oh yeah, Pasar Seni ITB is an event held by the Fine Arts and Design students of the Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB) every 4 years. Uli and I came without a second thought. Uli's friend Sasya also came along - I'd heard so much about her but hadn't had the chance to meet her until this weekend. The event wasn't at all like what we imagined it would be - both in a good and bad way - but it was quite a lot of fun. Well, mostly because I got to spend it with my soulmates.

Since Gina was part of the event committee, she departed earlier than the rest of us to the event. We left around 30 minutes afterwards, though, and it was already pretty crowded. Pasar Seni was a very much open event - you don't even have to pay any entrance fee! - so there was the inevitable stream of people from the streets. Though the majority of the event was held in the ITB campus, parts of it was held right there on the streets. As soon as we walked in, we got in line for the event merchandise because one glance at the catalogue and we were hooked. I knew there was a pre-order option open until the week before but I wasn't interested enough to grab that chance. Boy, did I regret that! In the middle of being in line, a huge storm washed over us and we were stuck. The event committee wasn't prepared for the downpour so they needed to regroup afterwards before they could open the merchandise store again. But the line was so long, they were crazy if they thought we would leave.

Primark shirt (thrifted) // Connexxion dress (old) // Typo satchel bag // vintage hat + penny loafers // hand-me-down tights // photo of me by Uli

Before I go on describing the event to you guys, let me show you what I was wearing. So, okay, I'll be honest. When I was packing for this weekend, I did not register the existence of rain. It was kind of stupid to be wearing a.) white and b.) penny loafers. For one thing, that dress ended up being smeared all over by mud - okay, not all over, just the bottom part. For another, the loafers are soaked through. They look much darker, don't they? Nope, they're the ones I've always had. I hadn't purchased another pair. The hat was a good call, though, because it save my hair...although it doesn't help because my whole outfit was dripping wet. I really love this outfit, though. It's like a collar-on-collar action. Much too saccharine?

The best part of Pasar Seni this year, I think, is the augmented reality effect. It's actually really cool. So Pasar Seni has this app you can download to your phone prior to the event. During the event, you can turn on the app and point the camera to their symbols (or 'marka' as they call it) at some of the pinpoints scattered all around the campus. In reality, you will just see some strange symbols while, on your phone, you will see some 3D animations. You can take pictures of or with the animation. One of the symbols is as captured in the first photo. That one becomes a bowl of noodle and meatballs. You can check some more out on my instagram. Incredibly impressed.

Other than some displayed artworks and installations, there are also some 'wahana' (games/video mapping experience), food and product stands. There were dozens of awesome design products for sale, starting from clothing and art prints to textile works and art deco. The most unique brand was Grow Box, who sells boxes where you can grow oyster mushrooms in. The mushrooms are edible and really beautiful - as you can spot above below the dinosaur. It is absolutely quirky! Gina's part in the event is a 'wahana' called Kotak Kontak, which is an interactive experience mimicking Power Ranger. It was a bit cheesy but it was still rather fun. She made the video mapping and it was very impressive. Afterwards, the four of us strolled along the area and saw some parts of the event for a while before she had to go back to her post and the rest of us went home. All in all, we got rained on four times that day and wasted 2 hours for the merchandise and got really drenched and dirty but it was still a lovely experience.