Agoraphobia (English version)

Streetview Portraits of the Traveller 

A single sunbeam is enough to drive away many shadows. —Francis of Assisi

Image: instagram.com/streetview.portraits/

TODAY I encountered and learnt a new word. Agoraphobia. It's a feeling of anxiety leading to panic when leaving a comfortable environment. Usually one's own home. An agoraphobic person perceives outside places to be unsafe whether at the mall, the school, or simply being in front of their house.

On this 2021 International Women's Day, Google featured a woman with this condition. "Meet the artist who photographed the world without leaving home," goes the tagline of the 4-min video.

I turned curious. How did one get to be a world photographer if she never went outside her house? Even acknowledged for her work as an artist on this important global event!

Jacqui Kenny used Google Street View to snap numerous weird yet wonderful streetview portraits shot by Google car camera in various countries. She'd upload and display them in her Instagram account. Two horses kissing in a Mongolian savanna. A man in red walking while leading a cow by the roadside in Kyrgyzstan with towering green and reddish plants in the background. It's like a painting. In Veracruz, Mexico a man was seen wearing blue shirt and red pants with a pail of paint in his right hand standing atop a ladder leaning against a totally white wall clouded with blue sky above. Resembles a maestro painting.

Then I came across another piece which I found adorable. Jacqui named it The Irrelevant Gate. Located in Arizona, USA the small gate is only as wide as a one-person footpath. Standing at a distance from an elongated house. Surrounding it is free unhindered by neighbor, fence or any other barrier. (See the picture above.) Last but not least, there's also a series of snapshots of a dog chasing the Google camera car in Tacna, Peru running for a mile even whilst scuffling with another dog.

Suddenly this massive planet earth that we're living in turns into such a small world. The scenes of which are explorable and enjoyable from behind a computer desk. Admirable too when someone diligently gathered all the pictures from unique and interesting perspectives. This observation is actually redolent of life being laden with paradox. Massive yet small. Wonderful and refreshing. Yet we realise how ugly and depraved it is (or could be).

But perhaps that is the 'art'. How we should occasionally take a step back to try to obtain an unusual point of view in the midst of chaos frequently worse than what meets the eyes. All the while us hanging on and choosing to move on this short journey called life. Traveling here and there carving out some achievements. Despite only from sitting on a chair. Like the agoraphobic traveller. Happy International Women's Day!  (EJ - 16/03/21) Baca dalam Bahasa Indonesia

References:

https://about.google/intl/ALL_au/stories/agoraphobic-traveller/

https://www.instagram.com/streetview.portraits/

Agoraphobia

Potret Jalanan Sang Petualang

A single sunbeam is enough to drive away many shadows. —Francis of Assisi

Image: instagram.com/streetview.portraits/

HARI INI saya bertemu dan belajar satu lema baru. Agoraphobia. Artinya perasaan cemas menuju panik ketika meninggalkan lingkungan yang nyaman. Biasanya rumah. Penderita agoraphobic menganggap keadaan di luar sana tidak aman. Mau ke pasar takut. Mau ke kantor ngeri. Mau ke sekolah kuatir. Bahkan ke luar rumah pun ada rasa waswas.

Dalam perayaan Hari Perempuan Internasional 2021 ini, Google menampilkan seorang wanita dengan kondisi itu. "Temuilah sang seniwati yang memfoto dunia ini tanpa meninggalkan rumahnya", demikian tagline Google dari video berdurasi empat menit tersebut.

Saya langsung terpancing. Bagaimana caranya bisa menjadi fotografer pelbagai belahan dunia jikalau tidak pernah keluar rumah? Dinobatkan sebagai artist pula pada hari sepenting International Women's Day ini!

Jacqui Kenny menggunakan Google Street View untuk menangkap begitu banyak pemandangan jalanan aneh tapi menakjubkan (weird but wonderful) yang terpotret kamera mobil Google di berbagai negara. Lalu dikumpulkan di akun Instagram-nya. Dua kuda sedang berciuman di savana Mongolia. Sesosok berbaju merah berjalan kaki menggiring seekor sapi di tepi jalan berpagar di Kyrgyzstan berlatar tanaman-tanaman hijau dan merah menjulang bak lukisan. Bertempat di Veracruz, Mexico seorang pria berbaju biru bercelana panjang merah dengan satu ember cat di tangan kanan berdiri di atas tangga yang bersandar pada tembok putih total dengan langit biru di atasnya. Juga menyerupai painting seorang maestro.

Lalu ada satu foto yang nampak menggemaskan. Jacqui menamainya The Irrelevant Gate. Berlokasi di Arizona, Amerika Serikat. Gerbang itu kecil hanya selebar jalan setapak satu orang. Berdiri jauh di depan sebuah rumah memanjang. Sekelilingnya lowong tak dibatasi oleh tetangga, pagar atau penghalang apa pun. (Lihat gambarnya di atas) Last but not least, ada rangkaian jepretan seekor anjing yang berlari mengejar mobil kamera Google di Tacna, Peru hingga sejauh satu mil sambil berkelahi dengan seekor anjing lainnya.

Planet bumi yang sangat luas ini begitu menjadi sempit. Bisa dijelajahi dan dinikmati dari belakang meja komputer. Dan pada saat yang sama bisa dikagumi ketika seorang dengan tekun mampu mengambil semua gambar itu dari perspektif yang menarik dan unik. Saya jadi teringat lagi bahwa hidup ini sarat dengan paradoks. Luas tapi sempit. Teramat indah dan menyegarkan. Meski kita sadar teramat buruk dan bobrok.

Barangkali itulah seninya. Bagaimana sesekali kita mundur satu langkah untuk coba memperoleh sudut pandang yang tak biasa memercik kesejukan di tengah kekalutan dunia yang kerap lebih buruk daripada keburukan yang selama ini nampak. Seraya terus bertahan dan bergerak maju di perjalanan singkat bernama 'kehidupan'. Bertualang ke sana-sini menorehkan prestasi. Meski hanya dari duduk di atas kursi. Seperti sang agoraphobic traveller. Happy International Women's Day!  (EJ - 8/03/21)  Read in English

Referensi:

https://about.google/intl/ALL_au/stories/agoraphobic-traveller/

https://www.instagram.com/streetview.portraits/