Walk, Wander, Wönder happened so fast.
Now, almost 2 weeks after the closing, I finally decide to write something. Just like to seal the special box before it ends up in the storage of ideas and memorabilia. A note that sums up mostly everything inside.
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The walking routine often comes up with wonder. Questions and what ifs—the thought of existential crisis. Why world going this way? When things are getting done? What should we do as the insignificant moving atom? If I constantly hugged the tree in the same position, will its trunk eventually squeezed? Did (insert name in the past) ever pass this street so in the parallel universe we’re technically doing the same? What do I suppose to do?
Even after all the exhibition euphoria, the wondering game are still going on and obviously getting stronger. But maybe, I have to step back from questioning and look back for a while.
The idea of making an exhibition had been sitting a while since the end on 2025. A simple setting—I can just put my drawing on the wall and let my friends enjoy it. But then I want to do fun things seriously and asked Yura, my curator/researcher friend to do the work with me from afar. She constantly reminds me to do this for fun when the stress started to spike. The unwritten detailed schedule, limited time and budget, no solid on-site team, and technical things that I had to figure out myself. Quite messy.
But as I believe and pray that every problem given comes with solution, everything was done nicely (and back to fun mode). At this point, blessings come in human form. Both from the people that support with their whole heart next to me and from afar. Immense love from the greatest people. I can say, literally the exhibition is not built solo. It’s collective and I can’t take this for granted.
A Reminder
My last minute decision to put posters for the visitors to draw themselves was the best decision I made for the exhibition. The decision not to make ‘walk’ solely my own.
At first, I thought about serving my story of walk. A series of walks during my years in Bandung. But what’s so special with walk? Everyone’s walking. A move done daily that sometimes forgotten to enjoy. A friend of mine once told me, my life motto is to celebrate. Yep, I celebrate this mundane walking things. We can make the sidewalk as our catwalk. Let the broken concrete block become a grunge setting, the fallen leaves as a carpet, and the vehicles’ light in the zebra cross turning to a spotlight. Those paths exist far before us. Or maybe they are actually reserved to us. We just need to enjoy it like a child.
From 150+ figures drawn after “what do you look like on the sidewalk?” question on the poster, people started to rediscover the euphoria of walking. Reimagining what do they look like on their stage. Their everyday stage, the sidewalk.
Indeed, before and even after, this exhibition is a collective experience. And I don’t mind to share the sidewalk stage with these lovely people who dance their on way.
I have to put this here. A lovely message of my friend who can’t come visit but her message moved me. To live in an era where physical presence is no longer an issue to spread messages is another level of sharing.
"Honestly, even though I did not attend your exhibition, I followed your instagram stories about the 'walk'. I finally went out from house and walked alone. I really never go out when I'm home, so yesterday was a really big progress to feel the courage to go outside alone with no exact plan.
Your artwork makes me want to do the 'walk, wander, and wonder' more." 🫶🏻
Walking as a form of liberation for one to choose their own detour. Again, this is a collective personal experience to celebrate.
About Questioning (and not forcing to find the answer right away)
After seeing the exhibition, people started to tell me their wish to see more of my works—which made me flattered. I myself was quite overwhelmed between the exhibition days so I took some walk before opening the gallery. The wander that always comes up with both clarity and simultaneous wonder. What's next?
A week after everything wrapped up, the thought of future's uncertainty filled up my head. Like a post-concert euphoria, I feel like my emotional graphic spiking high for weeks and declining all of sudden. I am proud with myself after doing all of this. I can say that I am satisfied with the result despite all the limitations. But is this my masterpiece? Maybe it's not. This is just an introduction perhaps. The answer of my curiosity on how is it to have a solo exhibition. An utterly humbling experience. Knowing that I can't do things all alone and how supportive surroundings matter. A complicated way to find the answer to one of the walk's popped up question. The discovery that came in a right time.
Still, so many questions left unanswered. But this time, I'll let the questions find their way to the answers as I continue to dance on the endless path.
Valentina Kris
Bandung, November 10th, 2026