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! 

Batik Week

Making of my temporary carpet at Museum Batik

While I write this, rain is pouring down creating a river in front of the house were normally there is a road. On Sunday 10 October I returned to my temporary home in Sleman after an exiting and wonderful week in Pekalongan.

After my "preparation visit" about 2 weeks ago I returned to Pekalongan on 4 October. The Batik Week was starting that day and I was hoping to create an artwork at Museum Batik. 

Making the same journey twice is nice and easy. Only thing that was different that there was smoke coming out of the Merapi volcano... at my transfer point in Semarang the people of volcano ask me "why you here again?".

Merapi

When I arrived in Pekalongan I found out that due to the busy time setting up the Batik Week, no preparations were made for my artwork. Only here you can make in less then 24 hours everything happen. Very fast an employee of the museum offered to get the Natural dyes I was looking for and in the morning I would go with Fajardewa and his wife to the pasar to get beras (rice) and other organic materials.

Fashion show at Museum Batik

That evening was a Gala dinner & Fashion show at the museum. I was happy I could go and wear my beautiful Kamaratih Batik coat that arrived a day earlier in Yogya!

The Fashion show was a colorful parade of fashion made by local and Javanese designers. Sitting on the side it was hard to tell if Batik Tulis or printed textiles was being used, but there were some nice silhouettes being displayed. Clothing by one designer, I specifically liked,  worked in asymmetrical layers with Batik Cap (I think) creating very feminine yet modern looking outfits. Another one, also from Pekalongan, used popular rock symbols in her designs like the mouth of the Rolling Stones. A nice surprise and very bold. Would like to meet this designer one day!

The next day arriving at Fajardewa's house I heard that the Natural dye materials already arrived in the museum. We headed to the pasar to see what materials I could use. 

With bags filled with rice, maize and a kind of lentils we continued to get materials for my stage. At a shop we bought a full size triplex plate. I wondered how it would reach the museum, but was told that a becak would bring it. Indeed a becak driver came, taking my bags with materials and placed the triplex plate on top of the seats and headed to the museum. Wow!

Finding materials at the pasar for my carpet

Jalawe, Secang, Tingi, Lerak, Tegeran, Mahoni and Jumbal I used in my carpet

At the museum I started setting up right away. I ask next to the Natural dye for the wajan's they use to heat the wax. I used them to display the materials I was using to make my carpet.

Yes, a carpet, I was going to make a carpet, or better sarong, using materials that are being used to color Batiks. The motif, the design of this temporary carpet, I based on the well known Batik Buketan design Pekalongan is famous for. 

Working with new materials is always exiting and I was happy to find that drawing with the Jalawe, Lerak, Tingi, Tegeran and Jumbal worked better then expected. It was wonderful to work on such an inspiring location surrounded by people who recognize and appreciate the materials I use.

The rice I used for the background because it is good contrast color is seen as an actual Batik motif. This motif know as "sprinkled rice" is a classic and Ibu Maryati from Jeruk makes her own modern version of it.

I worked through the openings-hours of the museum and was told not to finish the carpet that day because important guest would come the next day and would like to see me at work. I laughed because I knew I could never finish in one day. But glad I could prepare my carpet in a way I could still work with a crowd around me the next morning.

Bamboo stand by Museum Batik

Batik by Ibu Maryati in one of the stands

Around the Museum Batik for the Batik Week was a festival terrain with stands filled with Batik and food. The Museum Batik made a bamboo house to display a small Batik exhibition. 

In some of the stands were wonderful examples of Batiks dyed with natural colors and also a stand representing Batik Lasem. I spotted a Batik with a similar 'big grain of rice' motif Ibu Maryati uses in her designs and it turned out it was by her!

In the evening a Wayang Kulit performance was held for the military. The loudspeakers were a bit to loud for me, but it was a wonderful display. Two Wayang masters told the story. At one point the figures were in a kind of battle. One Wayang master threw one after another doll over the stage after spinning it around in front of the screen. His display got a big applause.

The next day I continued with my carpet with more viewers. Some ask me something, but most just watched me work and just say "Baik" or "Bagus". 

My carpet was not only noticed by visitors, also by the media. The local Radio sender Radio Kota Batik came to interview me and later returned with a cameraman. The item he made was shown on national tv! And on Twitter I found many people shared an interview. In this interview some things were written a bit stronger then my actual words like: "I hate Batik print!" And some things are just not true: "I'm 26 en lived 7 years on Java to study Batik with permission of my parents". I wish! 

But still great to get so much appreciation and have such a wonderful time making it!

Mak Sium, me and her granddaughter

Ibu Rasminah and Qomar

Nurul and her mother

On Friday and Saturday morning I returned to Batang to film some of the Batikmakers I met during my first visit. A great experience and I hope to share more about that in the near future.

In the afternoon the Batik Carnival took place in Pekalongan. Yes! But it was very busy and when the parade finally arrived it started to rain, but still it was a wonderful display. With Batiks and natural materials costumes were made. A lot of birds and butterflies marched by, but some were more creative and made me & Qomar very happy. We were judging every design very seriously and laughed that we should give out our own award as independent jury.

Batik Carnival in Pekalongan

I had a wonderful time in Pekalongan & Batang and would like to give a special thanks to Cornellius Pasattimur Fajardewa, Mr. Mandala, Mak Sium & her family, Nurul & her family, Qomar, Pak William Kwan, Ibu Rasminah & her family & everyone at the Museum Batik!