Bulan Batik*

Batiks of the 5 batikmakers who were part of the exhibition 'Masa depan Batik' at IHA

Making the new campaign image of 'Masa depan batik'. Photo by Koen de Wit

Guided tour on 17 October

Photo by Hans Kleijn

 

While I still had an exhibition in show in Singapore (check previous post), I was making my exhibition 'Masa depan Batik' to be shown at the Indonesia House (IHA) in Amsterdam. Already when I was preparing this exhibition for Erasmushuis in Jakarta, I wished I could also bring it to the Netherlands. Of course my wish was including bringing the batikmakers featured in the exhibition also.

After a very long wait and no possibilities for any budget, due to the many cuts in the culture funding in Indonesia, I could re-make the exhibition at IHA. It was not ideal and it felt pretty lonely after two months in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore being surrounded by friends, like minded batik people and seeing all the batikmakers that made this exhibition possible. Of course I was very happy I could show the works in the Netherlands and to show it in the cultural home of the Indonesian embassy in the Netherlands.

The exhibition 'Masa depan Batik | Future of Batik' features:

Nurul Maslahah 

Ibu Siti

Nidi Kusmaya 

Tony Sugiarta 

Addoley Dzegede

Widianti Widjaja

Ibu Umriyah

Mbak Ekawatiningsih 

Ibu Ramini 

Special thanks to:

Erasmus Huis

Indonesian Embassy

Miss Tasya 

Mas Qomar

Koen de Wit 

All the pembatiks, those of the past and the present, without them this exhibition could not have been made!

The exhibition 'Masa depan Batik | Future of Batik' was opened on 10 October officially, but I build it up on 29 and 30 September, so it could start on 1 October and be open on 2 October, Hari Batik (Batik Day). 

The weekend before building up, on 27 & 28 September, I was at the Ambacht in Beeld (Craft on View) festival in Amsterdam. An amazing two day craft celebration with many workshops, talks and more. I was asked to give batikworkshop. After trying out the 1 hour workshop at Pasar Istimewa in Rotterdam, I suggested I would to these very short try-outs. With the very much needed assistance of my dear Koen, we 8 workshops for almost 100 people in these two days. We enjoyed seeing other craftspeople and friends, Hi Mike!, seeing so many happy people learning about crafts. It was wonderful to represent Batik and see all the small batiks that were made in just one hour by people who hold a canting for the first time. 

Batikworkshops at Ambacht in Beeld

Batik made in one hour by participant

Batikworkshops at Ambacht in Beeld

With the help of Bapak Batara, I hung up most of works on Monday 29 September. It always great to see a floorplan coming to life in a space and actually fitting. Next to the works shown in Jakarta, I added a new work 'Odé to Miep Spee', which I put together on the spot. 

With Nidi Kusmaya worked on our Natural Dye Lab project so new dyed samples could be shown, she managed to dye them in between all her amazing projects abroad!

Making of 'Odé to Miep Spee'

Updated Natural Dye Lab

Life imitates Art

On 8 October I got to present my research on 'Decolonizing Batik Belanda (Dutch Batik), Batik Belanda and Dutch Batik, its history and representation in museums' during the WINNER conference in the program 'Decolonizing Batik Belanda: Women, Memory and the Art of Shared Heritage'. You can watch back the full program on Youtube and my talk starts at 3.30min.

Tari Batik during opening Masa depan Batik on 10 October at IHA. Photo by Koen de Wit

Video of the pembatiks during the opening Masa depan Batik on 10 October at IHA. 

Photo by Koen de Wit

Welcome speech opening Masa depan Batik on 10 October at IHA. Photo by Koen de Wit

Guided tour during opening Masa depan Batik on 10 October at IHA. Photo by Koen de Wit

On 10 October the exhibition was opened with a Tari batik (Batik Dance), welcome speeches, a guided tour by me, Batik Cap Kertas (batik stamp of cardboard) workshop by Sandra Saffira and a show&tell by Gwen Scheerlings, my batik student, on her two month experience learning batik on Java! 

Visitors rotated in smaller groups so they could part-take in all. 

Guided tour during opening Masa depan Batik on 10 October at IHA. Photo by Koen de Wit

Gwen Scheerling showing batiks she made during her work period on Java, 

on 10 October during the opening of Masa depan Batik . Photo by Koen de Wit

Batik Cap Kertas (batik stamp of cardboard) workshop by Sandra Saffira. Photo by Koen de Wit

The guided tours I also gave on 17 & 31 October. It is a lovely way of sharing the stories behind the different batik works and share the more personal side of them. Both days were fully booked and I had also Batik consultation on both days. It was great seeing batiks kept and unravel more about them.

I also got to take my family to see the exhibition; my dad, aunt and my mom's cousin. It was lovely to be able to show my work to them. I think my dad hardly has any idea what my work entails. He is proud never the less ;) 

Guided tour on 17 October. Photo by Hans Kleijn

In between all this I got two negative results on funding applications, making that now five this year...Still worked on the piece I hope to show in this exhibition next year for which we have no money...Mostly because needed the last warmer moments to make this batik work. Koen captured me in our shed when I was struggling getting the wax warm enough. 

Photo by Koen de Wit

On 4 November I dismantled my exhibition 'Masa depan Batik', the month went so fast while the wait was so long. I do hope I get to show this works many more times! And of course I hope I get to make many more works and work for a long time with and for batikmakers, bringing the future of Batik further and further!

* October is considered the Batik Month, Bulan Batik, since Batik became Intangible Unesco Heritage on 2 October 2009. So of course 'Masa depan Batik' had to be held in October!

Once upon a time, storytelling in Singapore

View of the exhibition at aNERDgallery and my zine

Visit to the botanic garden gallery, 

this photo made by Sophie, Shahira's daughter & self-proclaimed snowflake artist 

Balinese dancegroup Eka Suwara Santhi telling the story of Dewi Sri at aNERDgallery

It has been almost two weeks since I returned home. As always the jetlag takes some time to recover from, but had to get started right away my upcoming exhibition. More on that at the end of this blog.

After Java, on Monday 18 August me & Tony went back to Singapore. I prepared an exhibition ‘Once upon a time, Untold tales of Batik Cerita’ for at aNERDgallery that opened on Friday 22 August. 

The exhibition on storytelling in batik, features batiks that I have collected over the years. I am not a collector of old batiks, I buy of current makers by choice, but I was gifted batiks. The last gift included to my big surprise a batik with a fairytale scene on it. Well only the happy ever after, in the kepala, which I recognized from a batik that has the full story on it. 

Since it was folded up, stored away for over a century, I thought it should be shown as soon as possible. 

From my small collection of older batiks, I brought several examples of storytelling, from batik paintings with goddesses and a delman chauffeur (horse cart), some own works & batik souvenirs with romanticized Javanese & Dutch sceneries. 

In my short visit to Singapore between Kuala Lumpur & Java I already met up with storyteller Hafiz Rashid & illustrator Quek Hong Shin to see if we could work together on program, so had that to look forward to also. 

For the exhibition I also made a new zine. I think I had this idea for ever, at least since I made a postcard in 2021 on this subject, Little Red Riding Hood on Batik. Now I finally made the zine! And matching colouring pages!!

Exhibition ‘Once upon a time, Untold tales of Batik Cerita’ at aNERDgallery

Exhibition ‘Once upon a time, Untold tales of Batik Cerita’ at aNERDgallery

Between preparing for the exhibition, I headed to the event by Adel of Muta Wear. It was suppose to be held at the gallery when we were still on Java, but was postponed. ‘Sambal Tambal’ invited the participants to share first their favorite sambal and later a memory with a parent. It was a lovely intimate session around healing family bonds even if it is without re-connecting. It was wonderful to join this last event of Adel’s project around the patchwork blankets of her grandmother and her up-cycling facemask project for aNERDgallery. 

Literary salon 'Patch it up, Sambal Tambal' in which the story of Adels grandmother quilt 

and the batikmotif tambal were the base for a project on healing

The opening on Friday was surprisingly busy. Thank you all for coming. Me & Tony dressed in storytelling batiks from Cirebon, I wore one with the lantern festival, while Tony borrowed the astronaut batik. Hafiz did an improve storytelling using one of the batiks, inviting the audience to bring in their thought on paper. It was so much fun. 

Happy face during the opening of ‘Once upon a time, Untold tales of Batik Cerita' 

at aNERDgallery, captured by Kalyani Kausikan

Tony before the opening in the astronaut batik 

paired with jacket from Berkain & Berkebaya Bersama Nona Srikaya

Rangoli workshop during the Singapore Night Festival

Projection by HAFI during the Singapore Night Festival

Participants of the workshop ‘Windmills and ricefields, decoding batik souvenir cloth’ 

showing their works made

On Sunday 24 August the workshop ‘Windmills and ricefields, decoding batik souvenir cloth’ was held. 

Windmills & Ricefields are idyllic sceneries of batik souvenir cloth brought back by the Dutch soldiers after their stay in Dutch East Indies/Indonesia at the end of the 1950’s. These souvenir cloth have a very unique format and ingrained with the memories of their homes in different places.

In the workshop, we learned about how batik can be a form of storytelling as we breakdown the “Who, What, Where” components of a narrative. I shortly introduced the history of batik souvenir cloth. Illustrator Quek Hong Shin then explained the template and shared his own drawn story cloth design. This started the workshop with right away such a lovely moment. Also Hong Shin brought with him a canting like tool, which he used with watercolour. 

The participants, including myself, started to draw their own memories into the souvenir cloth format. After 1,5 hour we shared our story cloth, which was really magical. Many laughs, some tears, sharing memories that weren’t healed or dealt with with, finding space in this way of telling the story.

Illustrator Quek Hong Shin sharing his example of a memory cloth design

Gathered around to see & share, every participants shared their memory with the group, which gave smiles, some tears and even created room for healing

I drew my grandparents as the who, their home as the Where, the What for sure being this journey to put me on. Without their inspiration, I might have not be busy with Batik. It was nice to recall their home, with so many objects from their travels. The carpets that I pretended were islands, so I hopped from one to another ~ very much like I did these last few weeks, years. 

What I did not share with the group, but why I made this work too, is that my relationship with my grandmother has not been well after my mothers passing, and I miss the times when family life was less complicated, or when it was easier to ignore certain things, probably. I have fond memories of being at my grandparents home, the inspiration it brought me and the path it let me on, I do not miss my mothers sadness and feeling hurt by words that shouldn't cut so deep. I realised this journey, thanks to also the events I could participated in, that happy and sad memories can be kept together. 

Halo around the Sun on 25 August while walking in the Chinese Gardens park

Nice tiles in Singapore

Designed my own ‘keropok label’ during the workshop of Sendok Rakyat, HAFI & 80codes. Had so much fun, learned a lot on krupuk and went home with my own sealed up design

Nice tiles in Singapore

'Nasi Goreng Diplomacy’ by artist and rice researcher Chu Hao Pei at the Singapore Art Museum

Peranakan Reimagined display at Sentosa

In these troubled times, my heart was full on Friday 29 August, when we had an evening in honour of Dewi Sri, Pa-Sri-an ~ Tribute to Dewi Sri.

Dewi Sri is the Javanese, Sundanese, and Balinese Hindu Goddess of rice and fertility. 

There are different tales & stories on Dewi Sri, in which she without fail dies, due to the actions of men, while all she wanted was to be free & to be in service of all people. 

Not unlike today in which wealth is confused for ownership and riches and freedom is being taken away with violence, even death. Thinking about the news from the Netherlands and Indonesia, it write this with a heavy heart. 

When talking about what we can organise during the exhibition, I suggested a program around Dewi Sri. I have two batiks about her on display & shared my accidental ode to Dewi Sri, Dance in a ricecarpet. I thought there must be actual traditional dances that tell the story of Dewi Sri. Turns out there is not, but two dancegroups took up the challenge and created a new dance. Balinese dancegroup Eka Suwara Santhi and dancer Nani of the Javanese dancegroup Guntur Sekar created in less then 3 weeks magic. Using traditional movements, to retell, honour and embody Dewi Sri. Rice & flower petals flew throught the room, the batiks on the walls were rocking around while kains were whooshed through the air. It was amazing to see this, after screening of Dance in a ricecarpet, that I made in 2010. 15 years ago, after my first journey to Batik. It was a full circle, while a new pathway opening at the same time. 

Screening of Dance in a ricecarpet during 

our Pa-Sri-an ~ Tribute to Dewi Sri event at aNERDgallery

Balinese dancegroup Eka Suwara Santhi telling the story of Dewi Sri at aNERDgallery

Balinese dancegroup Eka Suwara Santhi telling the story of Dewi Sri at aNERDgallery

Dancer Nani of the Javanese dancegroup Guntur Sekar

Next to the dances, Hafiz shared three stories of Dewi Sri from Java, Bali & Sumatra. Her unhappy tragic tale which all result in giving plentiful crops to us, proofs we owe womenkind much more than kindness.

Artist and rice researcher Chu Hao Pei shared on his practice and brought two additional rice goddess statues, that we placed with the pa-sri-an pair from Hafiz. Flower offerings were at the feet and in every corner of the gallery. We had ricesnacks; Dutch rijstwafels, different kinds of rice krupuk from Cirebon, beras tea, wajik and Tape Ketan. Filled, full and fulfilled we chatted till late in the evening.

Thank you so much for contributing to this evening, with your dance, stories, space and those who attended. It was such a highlight of my journey and perfect to wrap it up with this evening. Thank you Tony for organising all this with me!

Rice goddesses & rice snacks

Storytelling by Hafiz

Dancer Nani of the Javanese dancegroup Guntur Sekar

Explanation of the batiks by Tony that were used by the dancers

The exhibition 'Once upon a time, Untold tales of Batik Cerita' is still open till 27 September at aNERDgallery. On 20 September there are two events, a workshop Zine making & storytelling, more info here go to 'Ways of Storytelling'.

From 1 till 31 October ‘Masa depan Batik | Future of Batik’ will be on display at Indonesia House Amsterdam in the Netherlands. It is so wonderful I can bring the exhibition I made at Erasmushuis in Jakarta in 2023, now here!