Soul Soother

soul soother

The earliest building blocks of soul soother were conceived in early 2020. Like the very first few hours of the day, it was a very dark time. The kind of darkness that got you wondering how you even managed to perceive any light before. At that point, it had been clouding me for a few months. To slowly and unknowingly enter this phase and eventually find myself in such bleakness drove me to cherish any ray of light that i could find, for I was constantly reminded how much closer the darkness actually is. I am lucky enough to be able to come across some from time to time.

However, there really is no richer repertoire of traces of brightness than the past; In my mind, the places that I've been and the moments that have passed me are basically unscathed spring of this rare resource.

Similarly, being obligated to stay at one’s home for a few days at a time would heighten their appreciation for the outdoors. I’m writing this after my first outing (my groceries were running low) in 8 days—each one of them slightly regretful because it had been so sunny the whole time- during which I got the chance to experience simple pleasures such as using my legs and seeing little oblivious birds using theirs when they walk so quickly. Like my newfound habit of valuing light, I am now overwhelmed with my love of other places.

Like most of my other zines, it started out as an ambitious project with a strict concept and theme that ended up being slightly less faithful to what it was supposed to be. Despite of that, the true core of Soul Soother still stands: it’s a zine about sanctuary. Each one of the things that you will see later on has served this unexpected function in its own way. It might not necessarily be something you can consider as a place, at least a physical one. But even then, the non-place thing must have brought me to some state of mind (hence a place if you don’t mind me stretching) which, for me, is the same thing.

So without further ado I would like to welcome you to:

soul

Soother

The first time I went to the park, it was accidental. I didn't even know there was a park that big in Lyon (but then again nobody seemed to care about parks in Jakarta, so I was never trained to care about them), and I was astounded to find it. Call me basic, but it's certainly one of my favorite places in the city.

Taken from a spot that i like to refer as "The High Place" since you have to take the funiculaire to get there. Its space always open and its ambiance comfortingly quiet.

A normal scene on a Sunday morning in Jakarta. Bundaran HI itself is the center of constant movements and crowds.

For someone who's not into swimming, I really, really like beaches

But of course hills are nice too

now that we're in the same space

we all, for once, merged

credit to Kak Dewi for this picture of the dancers and the group picture of PPI Lyon (and some housewives)

First they took me to the library. Then they beat me at dance dance revolution. (despite me hurting my foot so bad it healed about 4 months after that day but thats not the point here)

January 2018

November 2018

we are certainly no longer where we are when we first met but i like to think that we're heading to a better direction

July 2018

Thank you for reading !