Kediri Artist Preserves Vanishing City Landmarks Through Watercolor Paintings

JatimVoice.com – Every city has buildings that define its identity—not just for their aesthetics or architecture, but for the collective memories they hold: places where people meet, wait, or journey through the urban landscape. Yet, amid rapid development, many historic structures quietly disappear—demolished for commercial complexes, leveled for parking lots, or left to decay until they collapse.

Source: suarajatimpost

As cities grow, parts of their heritage vanish without documentation. Ali Shodiqin, an artist from Kediri, East Java, is on a mission to preserve these fading identities through his paintings. Using watercolor and ink, he captures the essence of disappearing landmarks, ensuring their memory endures, even if only on paper.

“Many buildings are already gone. This is my way of expressing concern. I want to record their traces before they’re completely lost,” Ali said on Saturday, June 28, 2025.

Driven by his dismay at the gradual loss of culturally significant structures in his hometown, Ali’s personal project, *Traces of My Beloved City*, features paintings of Kediri’s old buildings, statues, and other elements he deems “still worth remembering, even if they no longer exist.” His works are not just for himself; through public exhibitions, he shares these memories with wider communities.

In his third solo exhibition, Ali took his art beyond Kediri to Surabaya, the City of Heroes. Held at the Merah Putih Gallery in the Balai Pemuda Complex throughout June 2025, the exhibition showcased 34 works, primarily watercolor and ink on paper. “Besides preserving memories for locals, I want people outside Kediri to know about its storied cityscape,” he said.

Some paintings were created on-site, while others were based on Ali’s photographs when conditions didn’t allow live sketching. For structures that no longer exist or have been relocated, such as the now-closed Loji Cafe or a stone statue moved to Trowulan, he relied on online documentation. “The statue was moved for preservation, but for me, it’s still a loss because it’s no longer in its original place,” Ali explained.

Among his most poignant works is a depiction of Kediri Station, where neatly lined becaks (rickshaws) seem to await better days. Far from the bustle of modernity, the scene highlights “ordinary people” striving to earn a living. “I wanted to portray the marginalized who still seek their livelihood at the station. The becaks are iconic,” Ali said, placing these figures—not as background, but as the heart of his city’s story.

The Surabaya exhibition marked Ali’s first show outside Kediri, offering a new stage for his work. “The venue is impressive, and the audience is more diverse. The appreciation feels different in Surabaya,” he noted. Previously, he exhibited in local venues like Kediri’s Education Office and cultural centers.

Ali’s art is more than nostalgia; it’s a reminder that cities are shaped not only by progress but also by what’s at risk of being forgotten. He dreams of taking his exhibitions to Yogyakarta, Solo, and eventually Jakarta to share his small city’s stories with a broader audience. “I hope to expand this message,” he concluded.

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