n one corner of Kota Tua in West Jakarta, several street artists make a living by applying paint to canvas with their skilled hands.
They have taken their posts in front of deserted and decrepit buildings, the remnants of the deadly 1998 riots, to wait for customers.
Their reproductions of renowned world masterpieces adorn the nearby sidewalk pillars along Jl. Pintu Besar Selatan in an impromptu gallery: Rembrandt’s Self-Portrait, Vermeer’s Girl With a Pearl Earring and Munch’s The Scream.
"I have been here for 18 years. That was back in 2002," say street artist Yono, originally from Pasuruan, East Java, his brush still working on a child's face.
The street artists typically receive orders for portraits, landscapes and caricatures, but the biggest demand is for portraits.
Yono said that he might need from two days to a week to complete a portrait, depending on the number of orders.
He is one of the few street artists that have returned to their roadside studios as the city enters the transition phase of the large-scale social restrictions (PSBB) period, but their number has dropped from around 30 to a mere dozen or so.
With people still struggling during the COVID-19 epidemic, the street gallery also receives few visitors, and a painter might receive just one order a week – if any.
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