Adinda Yuwon
Writing Portfolio
Contents
Contents
2
Essay
3
Personal Memoir
6
Copywriting
9
Aksara Christmas
9
@aksarakemang
12
@labtanya
21
2
ESSAY
Menuhankan Tuhan Atau, memanusiakan Tu h an ?
Apakah tuhan marah kalau saya tidak mengawali nama-nya dan kata ganti-nya dengan huruf kapital? Sesungguhnya, saya belum bertanya kepada-Nya. Tapi saya rasa, tentu Dia tidak akan marah. Hanya anda yang sedang membaca tulisan ini mungkin sedang merasa geli atau bahkan risih, karena kejahatan saya mengecilkan huruf T dalam Tuhan. Anda mungkin sedang menimbang-nimbang apakah anda harus melanjutkan membaca tulisan ini atau lebih baik menutupnya cepat-cepat. Atau jangan-jangan, diam-diam anda sependapat dengan saya. Bahwa tentu Dia tidak akan peduli, bagaimana nama-Nya dituliskan. Dan lebih peduli tentang seberapa sering diri-Nya terlintas dalam benak kita.
Bicara tentang Tuhan memang bukan hal yang mudah. Berbeda dengan bicara dengan Tuhan yang mungkin menjadi salah satu hal paling mudah yang pernah saya lakukan. Betapa mudah saya mengeluh dan 3
bercerita kepada-Nya, melalui doa yang saya ucapkan di gereja bersama ratusan jemaat lainnya ataupun sekadar ujaran sayup yang diarahkan kepada-Nya tanpa sedikit pun gestur formal: melipat tangan, menutup mata, dan menundukkan kepala. Bagi saya, Dia hadir seperti teman, tempat cerita yang selalu ada. Bagimu, mungkin berbeda. Lalu jika Dia adalah teman — yang selalu dekat dengan kita, mengapa kita perlu menghadirkan dia dalam bentuk-bentuk manusia untuk mengingat-Nya? Mengapa kita memanusiakan Tuhan? Patung-patung berwujud Tuhan yang ragawi berdiri di gereja-gereja. Aplikasi kitab suci laris memenuhi memori gawai kita. Alarm-alarm berbunyi keras mengingatkan kita untuk melaksanakan ibadah. Dia dekat dengan kita. Namun Dia terasa jauh. Kita begitu kecil. Dia Sang Maha. Kemudian seberapa sering dan seberapa jauhkah kita, manusia, berusaha menuhankan Tuhan? Mengawali nama dan sebu-
tan-Nya dengan huruf kapital dalam ejaan latin. Menyimpan-Nya dalam berbagai simbol yang kita temukan sehari-hari: bentuk rumah ibadah yang berkubah, perhiasan berbentuk salib, dan pulasan warna yang agung pada lukisan-lukisan para dewa-dewi. Untuk apa?
material, dan menurut Avianti Armand, melalui cara kita menangkap cahaya.
Cara-cara kita merotasi yang vertikal menjadi yang horizontal memang perlu kehati-hatian. Dan ketika cara-cara tersebut melampaui hakikatnya, jarak antara pribadi dengan diri-Nya malah semakin menjauh. Kita terus-menerus berusaha untuk meng- Maka untuk apa ada wujud jika hal itu mahadirkan diri-Nya dalam berbagai interprelah menjauhkan kita? “Upaya meninggikan tasi. Terus-menerus menuhankan-Nya (atau Yang Sudah Tinggi seharusnya dilakukan memanusiakan-Nya). Saya pikir semangat dengan lebih hati-hati, supaya tidak sekakita dalam mengusahakan kedua hal ini dar menjadi tameng peninggian ego kita akan selalu ada, sepanjang manusia tetap sendiri.” Setidaknya begitu menurut Adi menjadi manusia yang tidak dapat hidup Purnomo, seorang arsitek yang, menurut tanpa diri-Nya. Namun ketika kita melihat saya, berkali-kali berhasil mendekatkan rentetan usaha-usaha kita ini, adakah kita jarak itu, ketika saya mengunjungi gereja betul-betul menyadari betapa Maha diri-Nya yang dirancangnya, Gereja Santa Perawan dan betapa kecil, betapa fana, betapa mati Maria Ratu. diri kita? Sejak kecil saya diajarkan ada tiga sikap Sebagai penulis yang menulis renungan tubuh dalam berdoa: melipat tangan, menutentang Dia dan karya-Nya bagi manusia, tup mata, dan menundukkan kepala. Dulu, sebagai hamba yang menyebarkan kabar dalam setiap doa, saya diingatkan — mungbaik tentang-Nya, atau mungkin, sebagai kin oleh ibu, atau mungkin juga oleh guru arsitek yang dipercaya untuk membangun sekolah minggu, saya tidak ingat — untuk rumah-Nya. Baiklah kita menjadi sebitidak pernah abai dengan ketiga sikap ini. jak-bijaknya diri kita dalam menerjemahkan Meski sekarang saya menjalaninya lebih Dia, Sang Pencipta, ke dalam bentuk apa longgar, kadang hanya menutup mata dan pun karya yang akan dinikmati sesama kita. menundukkan kepala tanpa melipat tangan, Selamanya usaha kita akan jauh dari sematau hanya melipat tangan dan menutup purna, dalam mentranslasi pribadi-Nya ke mata tapi tidak menundukkan kepala. Saya dalam takaran manusia. kira sama saja, toh Tuhan yang Maha tahu sudah tahu lebih dulu isi doa saya sebelum Tulisan kita tidak akan pernah seindah saya panjatkan. Namun ada satu dari ketiga Firman-Nya, tapi tulisan kita dapat mengsikap yang saya rasa begitu penting makingatkan sesama akan kebaikan-Nya. Doa nanya — tunduk. kita tidak akan semujarab uluran kasihNya, tapi mendoakan orang lain, niscaya, Ketika kita tunduk, kita meletakkan diri kita akan meringankan hidupnya. Rumah yang lebih rendah dari Tuhan. Dia adalah segakita ciptakan untuk-Nya, selamanya, tidak la-galanya dan segala-galanya adalah Dia. akan mampu menandingi apapun karya Ketika kita tunduk, kita menyadari hal itu. tangan-Nya. Tapi rumah itu dapat menjadi Kita memaknai kebesaran-Nya. Dan mentempat yang khusyuk bagi para pencari-Nya jadi takjub karenanya. Itulah mengapa, kita apabila kita menghadirkan rasa tenang. menunduk saat berdoa, bersujud saat salat, Melalui pengolahan sekuens, pemilihan dan membungkuk saat sembahyang. 4
Oleh karena itu, semoga kita, yang jika suatu hari diperhadapkan dengan tugas memaknai Dia dalam bentuk manusiawi, menjadi ingat untuk menundukkan pandangan mata kita. Menunduk dan melihat ke bawah, di sana ada diri kita yang kecil. Tapi di sana juga ada Dia.
Dia dekat. Dia tidak jauh. Kita memang kecil, tapi Dia dekat. Ketika kita terus-menerus menyadari itu, semoga kita setidaknya mendekatkan, jika tidak menghilangkan, jurang yang digoreskan beribu tahun lalu oleh nenek moyang kita, menurut kisah kejatuhan manusia.
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PERSONAL MEMOIR
How to Miss My Dad
I was in high school when my dad found out he had a kidney failure. At first, he was reluctant to comply to kidney dialysis (a process of purifying blood through a machine) routine because it was said that once someone was bound to a dialysis, their chance of recovery is out the window. Through a lot of persuasion from families and friends, my dad finally agreed to do dialysis. He visited the hospital 2–3 times a week to spend 5–6 hours having tubes plugged into his veins and a machine to help him live another few days. We were told that a person who ends up with dialysis only have a very short time left. Our neighbor survived dialysis for five years before passing away. A relative passed away after only a few months. My mom’s acquaintance survived almost ten years of dialysis and she’s alive and well even until today. We never know our time, so we hope. But somehow our lives tend to follow some inclination. Predictions come true. Scientific 6
calculations become our fortune-teller. Unfortunately, my dad’s disease didn’t miraculously disappear like in the multi-million dollar movies. He passed away after two and a half years of kidney dialysis. He had been suffering from a type two diabetes for more than twenty years. He had to live almost a third of his life depending on artificial insulin (a glucose-control hormone) injection and at last on a machine.
How to cope with loss As an adolescent, I already have many things going through my mind at once, and death was something I don’t really have a room for. But it turned out I was pretty calm when my dad passed away. Way too calm. I almost didn’t cry at all during his funeral service. Was my heart made out of ice? I didn’t check. My theory is I had been mourning for my dad eversince I was told he got a kidney failure. The idea of him being dead was already
familiar. I had accepted it a long time ago. I even thought about it more often than I realized. When the time came, I wasn’t surprised. My friends would visit me and cried their hearts out and I was the one who had to comfort them. “I’m okay”, is what I used to say to them a lot. “You don’t need to feel sad for me.” A few would visit and acted just as calm as me because they’ve known me. We would just chat and talk about each other’s lives like we were in a coffee shop outside of town. Except we were in a funeral home.
How to miss my dad I mourned and I let him go. I let my dad go with a big smile on my heart, knowing he is finally free from agony. What I didn’t know then, was how to miss him. How to miss a father who had been sick during your teenage years? How to miss someone who should’ve been there for you but couldn’t? I didn’t miss him, not even once. At least I thought I didn’t. Life get by and I was busy with uni-life. I majored in architecture and had a lot of assignments. On top of them I had friends and many other stuffs waiting to be done. My school was out of town so I had to live away from home for four years. I rarely came home. I barely even had time for myself, let alone missing someone who was no longer here. But now that I am at the end of my final year, I have came to think a lot about my life. What has shaped me, my experiences, my stories, and at last, my dad. As a child, I used to think of him as my hero. Someone who would do anything for me. He truly was a very kind and generous person who would do anything for the ones he loved.
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What I didn’t realize then, was how much of his blood run through my veins. How much we are alike. How close we have bonded, even after he is gone. He was the one who introduced me to all of the things I love today. He taught me how to read, to draw, he had shared a lot of things about architecture. He was even an architect himself. He would buy me CD’s of the songs he liked. I would sneaked into his room and stole books to read. It was my mom who said to me the other day, “you are a lot like your father, don’t you know that?” She said that all of my choices were just like him. That I have lived my life the way he would live his. I only realized I never missed my dad because he continued to live in me. Through every breath and every step.
How to remember my dad I used to think of my dad as a hero, but in fact he was just a person. He was incapable of many things, a perfectly normal humane trait. He couldn’t live long enough to see me grow up. He couldn’t send me away to get married. He couldn’t hold my child like every grandparent would. Our parents aren’t heroes. We admire them, we idolize them. Until we learned they are just human beings. They have flaws and they make mistakes. They may disappoint us and break our hearts. But we break their hearts too, don’t we? A relationship between parents and their children might get a bit messy as each party is doing it for the first time — being a parent and being a child. The hardest part was realizing you’re both not perfect but still choose to love each other unconditionally.
The next hardest part was remembering the good in them. Either they’re still around or not, the way we keep our memory of them is up to us. The good and the bad shaped us into who we are now. It is our choice which one to remember.
PS. Remember the good ones!
COPYWRITING
Aksara Christmas
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FEATURED - EVENT BRANDING
Christmas is a time of joy and festivities. Last Christmas, the newly rebranded Aksara aimed to preserve its reputation as the best book/gift shop in town. Known for its distinct curation of gifts, we intended to emphasize our strength hence the jargon “One-of-aKind Holiday Gifts at Aksara� is chosen.
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FEATURED - EVENT BRANDING
Reda Gaudiamo is Aksara’s long time friend, writer, and musician. She was the perfect guest to warm our Christmas night in Aksara. Reda is known for her angelic voice and adventurous stories hence the event title is tailored to her personality: songs and stories. Reda and her friends performed their magical music and read several classic Christmas stories.
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COPYWRITING
@aksarakemang
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FEATURED - INSTAGRAM
Aksara is a melting pot of arts and cultures, occupied by eleven different partners with businesses encompassing books, music, films, arts, coffee, and foods. A big love for the arts cultivate lively interactions that further build a sense of home in our place. Through everything we do, we want to present the same energy. In every copy published, every content created, and every photo posted, we don’t just deliver words, we share a story. We always guide our followers to know more about our partners, staffs, publishers, and suppliers to give them a sense of familiarity. In every copy, each words are warmly intertwined. Through our thoughtful selection of 13
books and events, we want to catch people’s hearts. We also aim to present the alternatives, as their greatness are often overlooked. Warmth, inspiration, and the alternatives are what we always convey through our online presence.
FEATURED - INSTAGRAM
March 6, 2019 287 likes; 39 profile visits; 3,493 reaches Dua minggu terakhir ini, rumah kami @aksarakemang mendapat tamu spesial dari teman-teman @lablabalaba. Tak henti mencuri pandangan kami, instalasi dan cerita mereka memang tak biasa. Dari foto-foto jadul hingga fotokopian surat sampai stan pangkas keliling. Salah satu rekan kerja kami di kantor aksara bahkan sempat bertanya, "Itu pangkas rambut yang di depan sampai kapan, sih?" Sebelum berakhir di hari lusa, Jumat 8 Maret 2019, mari intip sekali lagi kisah mereka, lab laba laba merespon KuldesaK di Aksara, Kemang Raya Nomor 8b.
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FEATURED - INSTAGRAM
March 8, 2019 648 likes; 171 profile visits; 11,583 reaches “Culture does not make people. People make culture. If it is true that the full humanity of women is not our culture, then we can and must make it our culture.” - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Aksara celebrates International Women’s Day with this collage of the many wondrous women who bring this building to life every single day, including the designer who made this, @lisleysharond. May every woman in the world be fulfilled and may the world learn to respect the true virtues of femininity in every single being!
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FEATURED - INSTAGRAM
March 21, 2019 756 likes; 80 profile visits; 8,086 reaches “This is a story about my grandma. I call her, Eyang.” Eyang loves to recite her favorite songs on the radio. She knows the amount of all spoons and plates at home. But Eyang is unlike any other grandmas. Just like my little brother, she will scream out loud when the room turns dark. Sometimes she makes us afraid and confused. As far as I know, other grandmas aren’t like her. So why is my grandma different? Do you want to know? Find out through @seumpamabooks newest “Cerita Eyang”. Beautifully illustrated by Rassi Narika, and heartwarmingly written by Referika Rahmi. Cerita Eyang is a story told through the eyes of a little girl who lives with a family member
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with special needs. Sometimes, differences can be found as close as in our own family but it doesn’t mean that we should fear them. Differences are special, thank you @ referika and @rassinarika for reminding us that they should be celebrated and hugged, tightly.
FEATURED - INSTAGRAM
March 27, 2019 308 likes; 51 profile visits; 4,532 reaches Magazine B is an ad-free publication offering an independent perspective on one well-balanced brand from around the globe one issue at a time. On every issue, B uncovers more than just the birth and growth of each brand. B looks close on each of the characters that make up the brand, its products and users, cultural roots and movement, and impacts on society. Every brand is unique hence each issue takes on different approaches in constructing the stories. Aksara now carries 12 of the quintessential issues of @magazine.b. They are: #17 Porter, #22 Vibram, #33 Vitra, #34 Leica, #44 Vans, #49 Netflix, #51 Mr. Porter 51, #62 Moleskine, #63 IKEA, #65 Le Labo, #69 KitsunĂŠ, #72 Hay
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FEATURED - INSTAGRAM
March 29, 2019 339 likes; 80 profile visits; 5,436 reaches @aksarakemang welcomes our newest partner @dingdongdisko! Just opened earlier this month, Ding Dong is a small intimate bar with love of disco at the heart of it all, easily accessed through their neon-lighted front stairs taking you on a journey to the disco dimension. They offer a selection of Western and Eastern cuisine accompanied by signature drinks. Opening hours are from 11 am to serve you brunch, til very late, to let you dance the night away. There is always something going on at their DJ booth - hop on to their account @dingdongdisko to get daily updates on events.
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FEATURED - INSTAGRAM
March 21, 2019 121 likes; 89 profile visits; 3,182 reaches Right now is the best time to rethink our shopping behavior. What do we shop? Are the things we’ve been buying actually improve our lives? Do they really benefit us, the users, or the company that created them? Following the roots of the mass produced everyday items, we might uncover the grave truth on how these products only take us back to where we are, or even worse. We should start to be more conscious about the side effects of the products we bought in the long run. And right now is the best time. @mess.free is a consicousness project that reevaluates the everyday shopping behavior. @aksarakemang now carries their string
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bags that let you shop plastic free and tea infusers so you can leave the tea bags! The bags are available in three colors, white, pine, and black. We’re also waiting for the stainless and bamboo straws to be back and let you ditch the plastic straws.
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COPYWRITING
@labtanya
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FEATURED - INSTAGRAM
Lab Tanya is an experiment studio. Here, people get their chance to try and fail, to thrive and succeed. To ask, and be answered. Everyone is allowed to make mistakes, because that’s what makes us human. In Lab Tanya we’re teaching people to be more aware of how most of the things done around us aren’t the only ways to do it. As our target audience are mostly people who work in human-centered roles: designers, environmentalists, and artists, we aim to make them a better version of themselves. Through every copy, we want to share thatmessage.
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Every word needs to be alluring yet reasonable. We want them to test their reasons. We want people to question the status quo. We need to be straightforward but humble. Because we are here to help each other by enlightening our minds.
FEATURED - INSTAGRAM
Benarkah kebahagiaan kita dipengaruhi oleh kota tempat kita tinggal? Kebahagiaan manusia dengan segala kompleksitasnya kerap disederhanakan menjadi aspek tertentu seperti penghasilan, tempat tinggal, status, dan hubungan sosial. Waktu tempuh kita sehari-hari, di mana kita tinggal, jarak hubungan dengan keluarga dan teman-teman kita, adalah sedikit poin dari lebih banyak lagi faktor yang menjadi penentu resep kebahagiaan manusia sebagai kaum urban. BukaBuku edisi April akan membahas mengenai Happy City, sebuah buku berisi pengamatan Charles Montgomery mengenai beragam faktor penentu kebahagiaan warga kota. BukaBuku mengenai Happy City ini akan diulas bersama: Reza Ambardi @rezaam-
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bardi, lulusan TU Delft yang berfokus pada topik perencanaan urban dengan pendekatan “people-first design�, menjadikan buku Happy City ini sebagai titik awal eksplorasinya. Penanggap diskusi ini adalah Wahyu Pratomo @wahyupratomo, seorang ‘urban planner/airport planner’ di Denhaag Belanda, yang juga sering menjelajah beragam kota dan mendokumentasikannya dalam @donotsettle. Perspektifnya juga akan diperkaya dari sisi psikologi perkotaan oleh Supriyanto, seorang dosen psikologi UPJ.
FEATURED - INSTAGRAM
Diterjemahkan dari judul aslinya: “What Every Environmentalists Need to Know About Capitalism� mengulas dengan dalam korelasi dari bencana perubahan iklim dengan sistem kapitalistik berskala dunia. Dalam kehidupan kita sehari-hari, tentu istilah perubahan iklim sudah tidak asing lagi terdengar. Yang tak kalah asing adalah wacana-wacana penyelamatan iklim dalam naungan kapitalisme: pertumbuhan ekonomi, konsumsi hijau, dan pembaruan teknologi yang katanya dapat membawa kita keluar dari gelembung bencana ekologi ini. Kini dengan semakin merebaknya beragam aksi lingkungan di sekitar kita, banyak pula yang telah melakukan gerakan-gerakan kecil untuk menyelamatkan bumi. Mulai dari mengurangi sampah, bersih-bersih pantai, menandatangani petisi, unjuk rasa serta diskusi dan beragam aksi nyata lain. Namun, isu lingkungan ini kerap tidak kunjung
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selesai dengan kerumitan luar biasa untuk menuntaskannya. Langkah-langkah tersebut menurut dua penulis, Fred Magdoff dan John Bellamy Foster belum cukup. Ada hal-hal mendasar yang harus diketahui oleh para aktivis lingkungan dan masyarakat dalam tatanan cara main ekonomi kita sehari-hari. Kapitalisme telah lama menanamkan dampak jangka panjangnya di bumi. Masih banyak pula yang yakin bahwa kapitalisme dapat merubah wajahnya ke arah yang lebih ramah lingkungan. Nyatanya, tidak dapat dengan mudah dua hal ini dapat berjalan beriringan. BukaBuku kali ini membahas buku terjemahan dari “What Environmentalist Should Know About Capitalism� oleh Fred Magdoff dan John Bellamy Foster. Buku ini diulas oleh Pius Ginting, sang penerjemah yang juga adalah seorang aktivis lingkungan.
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