Silk weaver in Baan Krua
Paper Sarong Workshop at SEA Junction
Talking with my partner at home about current journey I have been on. Not just actual current travel abroad, but the path that is leading me beyond Batik. Or better maybe, the journey through Batik bringing me to different textile histories. The path is branching off it might seems like.
Since September 2023 together with Dido Michielsen we dove into the history, development and use of the white (European style lace) kebaya.
There will be follow ups on this research & the recent event with pop-up exhibition. Hope to do an English online version.
I also have been working since January on the disclosure of an archive of a Dutch cottonprinting company, that not only copied Batik, but made & shipped a wide variety of textiles with a wide variety of markets. The printed cottons went to Indonesia & West-Africa, but also throughout South-Asia with a surprising big market in Myanmar. This might be still a pretty unexplored history within the world of textile trade. And it is part of my talk for the 8th IASSRT Symposium, Textiles Trails: Legacies of the Silk Roads in Southeast Asia, (part of ATTS 9) symposium held in Vientiane, Laos. The reason I am traveling to not Indonesia this time, but another part of Southeast Asia, exciting!
This journey to Batik is not the typical journey I got to make these past couple of times, but I will blog along the way nevertheless, since this journey will include Batik & batik making, other inspiring textiles and for sure places I would love to share about with you, dear readers!
My first part of my journey brought me to Bangkok in Thailand. I was here once before in 2019. I got really sick in Jakarta and got to spend only a weekend here. I was in the great company of textile collector & dear friend John Ang and we did a lot! I saw great things, but I had no real idea of this city.
Dress appropriate loan point at Wat Pro
Yanawit Kunchaethong installation at Wat Pro
My first day, Friday 25 October, I started with a visit to Wat Pro ~ Wat Phra Chetuphon Wimon Mangkhalaram Rajwaramahawihan. How could I forget this completely patterned world. I am just in awe. The walls, ceilings, everything is decorated with motifs, motifs that are also in the textiles of Thailand. The reclining buddha, the one lying on its side, is amazing, but the walls! I could only look up!
It turned out to also be Bangkok Art Biennale. At Wat Pro there was within one if the buildings an installation of the ink experiments by Yanawit Kunchaethong.
The colours of his work matched according to the guide with the natural dyes used in the original wallpaintings in the temple. A beautiful sight and curious about the actual natural pigments that were used to draw this curious images of all kinds of animals, tigers & bulls wrapped in sarongs, among other things.
Elephant pants at Museum Siam
After Wat Pro, I went to Museum Siam, it basically right next to it. It is a small museum with a fun & interactive exhibition ‘Decording Thainess’ explaining what being Thai, Thai culture, food, language, dress & more is. Of course Thai dress was featured too, including the Elephant pants.
I was mostly interested in the lace blouse that is worn here together with the sarong. I spotted ladies wearing it outside & shops selling it. The lace blouse looks a lot like the blouse worn in Victorian times. It became fashion around 1900, similar to the white lace kebaya that reached it best known form around the same time.
In the 1900s, after King Rama V visited Europe, the Victorian lace blouse became popular among Siamese elite women. The blouse was adapted to suit the Thai climate, and this type of blouse has become recognized as a traditional Thai costume. At traditional festivals and ceremonies, from ordination ceremonies and the Loy Krathong Festival to beauty pageants, and even In kindergartens, this type of lace blouse Is the most popular choice.
Ladies spotted on their way to one of the temples
In the evening I went to a talk at SEA Junction where I gave two workshops the next day.
In the talk was included the Dutch artist Mella Jaarsma who is based in Yogyakarta. She is collaborating with Papua barkcloth artist Pak Agus Ongge. It was wonderful to hear him talk about his art and passion to bring this traditional cloth to a new generation. Not just to keep a history alive, but as an act of protest.
Work by Pak Agus Ongge and Mella Jaarsma at National Gallery
The next morning, Saturday 26 October, I went to the National Gallery to see their work. The museum based in an old building by an Italian architect had great works on display. Next to the Biennale, there was a temporary exhibition of Indonesian paintings and the collection their own collection is great too.
Paper Sarong Workshop
Saturday afternoon I gave two workshops at SEA Junction, based in the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre. Basically a mall for Art. I knew SEA Junction through their social media and many wonderful activities they do. When preparing for my trip, I thought it might be nice to give a workshop there. After a videocall I was asked to not give one, but two. One more an introduction and one more in-depth.
First the participants dove into the world of pattern making with the ‘Paper Sarong’ workshop. After an introduction on Batik & the imitations from Europe, everyone was invited to draw something close to them or what they like. When the drawings were finished, per group they were asked to put each into one design together. It is every time great to see how total strangers can work within an hour together on a motif.
After the ‘Paper sarong’ we explored the Wereldmuseum Database with the research workshop I developed last year. It was fun & interesting to do these two workshops for the same group. In this hands-on way I can bring my work with & research on Batik much closer, it is not just talking about it, it is really sharing.
Thanks SEA Junction for giving me the space to do these workshops.
Thanks to those who joined, based in Bangkok, but from Indonesia, Malaysia, The Netherlands, Italy, America and more places!
Paper Sarong Workshop
On Sunday I got to spend time with textile collector, and expert in woven textiles from Myanmar, Ake Thweep. We met two times before in person, but finally got to spend an afternoon talking textiles. Cannot wait to dive into it further during the symposium!
Ake shared with me textiles he collected that were used to wrap holy texts. A variety of printed, cotton textiles, important from Europe, but also all kind of other kinds, were used. An interesting subject and for sure it will give insights in what was available in Myanmar in the very active textile trade.
Auspicious colours explained at Queen Sirikit Museum of Textiles
Stamps at Queen Sirikit Museum of Textiles
On Monday I met with Raffy Sarttarat at the Queen Sirikit Museum of Textiles. The museum is located within the Royal Palace, so dress appropriate, long dress/trousers & long sleeves.
Got a tour by Raffy through the new exhibitions. The main temporary exhibition has amazing ikat {Pha Sompak Poom} , brocade {Pha yok } & blockprinted Chintz with gold {Pha lai yang } textiles in them that were worn by the royal family.
You cannot take photos of their exhibitions unfortunately, but they have a special interactive one were photos are aloud. The exhibition ‘The Threads Through Time’ demonstrates the concept of colour in Thai culture, which is intertwined with traditional attire from the past and has become an integral part of Thai daily life.
Colour in Thai Culture Section presents the beliefs about colours revolving around traditional attire customs, from its origin of the nine celestial deities (Navagraha) to the beliefs and practices in the royal court. The display covers the principles found in the Mahataksa and Sawasdi Raksa doctrines and the practice of wearing auspicious colours according to the day of the week.
Wearing certain colour can bring specified luck, by using the colours of the week. Something I never encountered before, and now cannot unsee. Of course I checked what I should wear for my upcoming talk and turns outs purple will make it a good delivered & inspiring talk.
Raffy gave me after her tour a ‘passport’ with the exercise to collect all textile pattern stamps ~ I manage to find all, a nice activity and I love all the stamps here, also in the gift shop at Museum Siam. We should introduce it too. It is so much fun!
At Old Siam Plaza
At China World
The afternoon I spend in the Indian neighborhood in the mall Old Siam Plaza & China World looking for Batik Print, batik Imitations, I spotted being sold at Wat Pro. They have the name batik as a brand but are actually with Thai motifs.
After visiting the stores at Old Siam Plaza, a mall filled with luxurious textiles, imported silk from Italy (like what?!?) & meters and meters of lace.
Going outside to go the China World, I found the fake batiks at a little stall in the street. The seller was so sweet opening up all the packages. She also had new in a version with Moo Deng, the famous hippo from the local zoo!!
Fake Batik
I also went to the mall China World which is even more filled with textiles, but on rolls and rolls with no end. Mostly it is printed textiles, either on cottons, linen or synthetic fabrics.
The visit really connected some dots in my upcoming talk for the 8th IASSRT symposium in Laos. The legacy, as you will, of these European imitation, made not only the fast fashion possible as we see it in clothing stores globally, but in the wat y we produce textiles in general. Although there are still handmade textiles, most are made by machines. And of most traditional textiles there will be a cheap knockoff copy available on the market. These knockoffs have often by now their own unique market. Like for example the elephant pants used by all tourist & people in Thailand. This pattern, now used in almost any item you can think off, has in its base a combination of Indian blockprinting, but also European imitation batiks. These mass-produced elephant fabrics are actually not even produced locally. I hear rumors of silkscreenprinters in Pekalongan, who normally make fake batik, taking orders to print these pants!!
Rolls of "Thai elephant" patterns at China World
Shop to dress 'appropriate' at the Golden Mount temple
Monday Klaus Rink, my textile colleague & friend from Vienna, arrived. He is joining the symposium too and it was great we got to catch up in Bangkok already. He knows the city really well, so it was fun to follow him on very fast boats.
Of course we had to go to Jim Thompson House. To my delight we were allowed to take photos. Apparently the policy changed after the pandemic. The posting online helped with getting visitors to return.
The house and story of Jim Thompson is really inspiring. The fact it has been maintained and improved even, with a small exhibition now too, since 1959 is amazing.
At the Jim Thompson House small exhibition
Silk weaver in Baan Krua
Inactive looms in Silk weaving workshop in Baan Krua
After the house & lunch, we crossed the water to go to the neighborhood Baan Krua. The place where originally Jim Thompson found his Silk weavers. Now the weaving is done elsewhere, but still on workshop remains. Klaus was here in 2011 and his blogpost The Thai silk weavers of Baan Krua on it shows a still active place with multiple weavers & the dyeing of silk threads. Now only one woman was working, on a stunning deep purple cloth, and most other looms looked like they might been gathering dust for a while. But it is still great to see some actual weaving. If you visit, make sure to make donation, there is a little box for cash!
After this visit we headed up the Golden Mount, the temple with a great view over the city. I especially also like the cabinet with textiles, or bags, sorted according to the colours of the week. As I wrote, now I know, I cannot unsee it & want to learn more about it.
Sorted by colours of the week at the Golden Mount
Dress up at Wat Arun for photoshoot
On my last day in Bangkok we visited Wat Arun. This place is beyond words really, just looking around mouth open basically, staring at all the glazed tiles decorations on it. On closer inspection, not all are glazed tiles, also patterned porcelain plates & cups are used.
An interesting trend at the temples is being dressed up in "traditional" outfits and being photographed professionally. It is fun and also strange to be in between all these dressed, almost cosplay, people. It does give beautiful photos!
The temple has on the base also kinnara/kinnari.
A kinnara is a creature from Hindu and Buddhist mythology. They are described as part human and part bird, and have a strong association with music and love. Believed to come from the Himalayas, they often watch over the well-being of humans in times of trouble or danger.
So happy to see them everywhere. I wish I can still find a fabric with them as a motif, but for sure it will be possible somewhere along this journey!
Kinnara with visitors handbag
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