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Police officer-artist Chrysnanda exhibits 'Sopo Ngiro'
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Survival: One of Chryshnanda Dwilaksana's paintings, titled 'Jatuh dan Bangkit Lagi' (Fall and Rise Again), is one of the three paintings that holds a special meaning to him. (JP/Audrie Safira Maulana)
I
n his day job he enforces rules on the street, but National Police Traffic Corps (Korlantas) traffic safety director Brig. Gen. Chrysnanda Dwi Laksana is also a gifted artist.
Chrysnanda expressed himself freely on the canvas, showing off his artistic talent at an exhibition titled “Sopo Ngiro”, which means “who knows” in Javanese. In the exhibition, being held at Cemara 6 Gallery-Museum in Central Jakarta until Aug. 15, and his fourth solo exhibition, he displays 32 paintings, mostly abstracts.
Chrysnanda said the hardest part of creating a painting was not the time needed to complete the piece but finding the topic he wanted to portray.
Abstract painting, he said, was the ideal way for him to express himself. “I have always wanted to express my thoughts, words and actions on canvas,” he says.
Tsunami, Korban (Victim), and Jatuh dan Bangkit Lagi (Fall and Rise Again) are three of his artworks that hold a special meanings to him.
Placed at the exhibition’s entrance, Tsunami is the first piece that welcomes visitors to the gallery. Chryshnanda said he already had a sketch of a different painting but when the quake-triggered tsunami devastated Aceh, he decided to change the concept to remember the tragedy.
Chryshnanda’s passion for art dates back to his high school years, when he planned to pursue his passion when he graduated. But he had to abandon his wish when his parents told him that being an artist would not support his livelihood, after which he set his eyes on becoming a police officer.
Chryshnanda said that once he became a cop, he did not paint until he met the late Didi Suwardi, a former policeman. “He is the one who motivated me to learn painting again,” he said, without elaborating more.
Working as a police officer and an artist poses no problem for Chryshnanda, who considers that it provides him with life balance.
Despite his busy schedule, he tries to spare some time to paint. “The question is, do I want to do it or not? If I want to, there will be time,” he said.
-- The writer is an intern at The Jakarta Post
