August 25, 2010

PindaKAAS light


PindaKAAS light is on the 25 of September in the Scheltema in Leiden, NL. PindaKAAS means Peanut butter in Dutch. The name reference to the nicknames peanut and cheesehead, but are now used as sobriquet.
I'm invited to show my wallpaper installation "The journey of Batik". I'm very happy with that, because the festival is organized specifically for and by people with Indonesian roots or with a strong bond with Indonesia. The goal is to show art with a strong connection with or influence by Indonesia.

More about PindaKAAS on there website en on the YouTube channel AsianTraveller. More practical information will follow soon.

August 10, 2010

"All we can give are coffee & cigarettes"

"All we can give (as presents) are coffee & cigarettes" said Pitra Hutomo (from the organization IVAA) when she visited me in Breda (NL). I told her that's a great thing, we can only give cheese & clogs (and weed, but it's not really a good present in most countries). But off course Indonesia has so much more to give and share. They have many traditions & crafts in which they produce beautiful things, like wood sculptures, Batik and Wayang kulit.When I came across this photo, I remembered an Indonesian tradition I really liked. Batik expert William Kwan showed me pictures of this tradition called Cethe.Cethe are cigarette decorated with coffee. The applying of the coffee on the cigarettes is called Nyethe. This craft is originally from Tulungagung in East Java. I haven't had the pleasure of seeing this craft in real life, but on the pictures I saw I noticed that the pattern are similar to Batik patterns. And I really like it that they combined two things I love (and aren't good for you) into a piece of art, so that's why I wanted to share this with you.
More about Cethe, the making and the tradition on the great blog called "Everything about Coffee, Chocolate and Cigarette". Coffee, Chocolate and Cigarette make u better relax and enjoy!