Baru Belanda, a cookbook wrapped in Batik & Lurik

During the booklaunch I made a little pop-up to share more on KUB Srikandi

the book-covers of the Special Editions are all made 

with one-coloured Batiks designed by Ibu Ramini of KUB Srikandi

Pretty out of the blue I got contacted through Instagram if I wanted to help with a cookbook. Chef Pascal Jalhay was in the middle of preparing his third book, this time all about Indonesian inspired food made by (mostly) Indo-European cooks in the Netherlands. 'BaruBelanda' is a beautiful tribute to this shared history and everyone loves 'Indisch makan', I am no exception. The title is a twist on 'Hollandse Nieuwe' an expression used for the first herring's of the season, which are eaten raw in the Netherlands. It is also used to refer to 'New Dutch', a slang term for immigrants. So it is a great title with many layers, from kitchen to culture.
He contacted me because he wanted to make a special edition, 250 copies in total and was looking for "real Batik" to make a bookcover. Happy he found me and after a short meeting, I imported the first batch of Batiks. His mother made the one-coloured Batiks into envelop shaped covers for the books.

For the Special Edition 'BaruBelanda''s not only has a Batik cover; they are all signed, stamped {with a logo designed by tattoo-legend Henk Schiffmacher} & numbered. The first 150 Special Editions had a banderol made by Sabina de Rozario, or also know as 'Indo in Bali' (Instagram) & 'Door blauwe ogen' (Must read blog). For the banderols she recycled fabrics that were given to her by an Indonesian designer who use to make hippie dresses in the 80's on Bali. Together with recycled cardboard, fishing nets and a hand-stamped text she made beautiful wrappers for the first 150 Special Editions.

The one-coloured Batiks by KUB Srikandi

BaruBelanda Booklaunch

Tropical view in Hotel Jakarta

On the 18 of March 'BaruBelanda' was launched during a spectaculair day at the amazing Hotel Jakarta. I never been there before and I was instantly in love. They created an indoor tropical paradise with banana-plants reaching the glass-ceiling. 

We were first welcomed upstairs with Saya spekkoek likeur, jummie, in a room with a pop-up exhibition of the Liefkes collection, wauw!

The first copy of the book would be given to Henk Schiffmaker, this I knew. That is would be a Special Edition I did not and I also didn't expected to be thanked in Pascal's opening speech {see the speech in the Instagram post below}. All eyes were on me for a second & I was already flushed from spotting all these well known people. 

During the speech trays filled with pretty displayed food came by. I believe in total 14 dishes were served during the booklaunch, all made by the chefs featured in 'BaruBelanda'.

BaruBelanda Special Edition ready for Henk Schiffmacher

View this post on Instagram

Yesterday the new cookbook Baru Belanda {Hollandse Nieuwe} by Pascal Jalhay was launched during a wonderful event at Hotel Jakarta in Amsterdam 📘🇾🇪🍛🥥👨🏻‍🍳🥭🍚🇲🇨The book celebrated the Indo-European cuisine, Indische keuken, in the Netherlands😋The book-launch started with a welcome cocktail by @sayahspekkoeklikeur & speech - @henkschiffmacher was given the first book, a special edition wrapped in the Batik Tulis cover🥰Pascal reached out to me for his project & I was happy I could provide the textiles for the batikcovers on short notice🎉💙The Batiks are made by KUB Srikandi Jeruk from Java, design by Ibu Ramini😍During the opening Pascal refers to me as ‘The Ambassador of Batik in the Netherlands’☺️Thanks Pascal for promoting & supporting Batik Tulis with this amazing project❣️After the opening, the chefs who contribute to the book, made their recipes for us, mine all vegetarian🤤I believe 12 dishes were served😋On the pictures a gado gado, a rendang from eggplant, a dessert with spekkoek and two more🤤So beautiful! And the book is beautiful too, with pictures by @harold13pereira 😍Get your {Special Edition} @barubelanda now! 📘🍛🇲🇨🥥🇾🇪🥭🍚👨🏻‍🍳💙🎉@fontaineuitgevers #barubelanda #food #cookbook #indonesiancuisine #indischekeuken #indonesianfood #kookboek #batik #batiktulis #batikcover #specialedition #pascaljalhay #hoteljakarta #celebration #somuchgoodfood #inspired #lucky #kubsrikandijeruk #iburamini #batikjeruk #batiklasem @hoteljakarta.ams

A post shared by Sabine Bolk (@sabinebolk) on Mar 19, 2019 at 2:31am PDT

Pascal's "rijsttafel", literal interpretation of the 'Rice table'.

'Rijsttafel 'is an elaborate meal adapted by the Dutch following the hidang presentation of nasi Padang of West Sumatra. It consists of many (forty is not an unusual number) side dishes served in small portions accompanied by rice

The Special Editions on the Rice Table

The booklaunch continued downstairs. Everyone was treated to a feast! I got, almost, every dish vegetarian and they all looked too beautiful to be eaten. 

The book itself is as much eye-candy as the dishes served. Next to recipes with great shots by Harold Pereira, the chefs tell their personal story and share their love for Indonesian food. The book elevates Indonesian food into Haute Cuisine.

Even if you don't plan on making any of the recipes, it a great book to read to see where and made 

by who you can get great Indonesian food in the Netherlands.

Some of the dishes served during the booklaunch. Mine were all vegetarian and jummie!

Pascal posing with his parents, Henk Schiffmacher and his wife Louise van Teylingen

My favourite of the day was the dessert, safe the best for last. 

Spekkoek, pandan & chocolate mouse made by the chefs of De Sawa in Delft

Lurik Banderol

BaruBelanda with try-out Lurik Banderol

For the last 100 Special Editions Pascal asked me to make the banderols. I still had these colourful Lurik scarfs from TheAria Batik at home and thought it would make a nice combination with the Batik covers.

Lurik is a woven fabric and recognisable from its long stripes. ‘Lurik’ cloths were called ‘Tenun gendong’ which referred to the use of the cloth to carry things with it. The current name ‘Lurik’ cames from “rik” which means line or threshold. The threshold would give protection to the wearer. 

Lurik use to be made with handloom, nowadays this is done with a foot-treadle loom. On many places this proces is already replaced by machines and many weavers lost their jobs because of that. These Lurik cloths are still from the last places were it is handmade, or feet-made in this case, from the Bantul Regency in the Jogjakarta region.

It was a lot of work, but the end result is great! To every banderol I added two tassels so you can see of which coloured threads were used to make this Lurik. 

Lurik scarfs hanging outside in my garden

Every banderol includes a little explanation about the fabric 'Lurik'

100 pieces ready

Colourful threads tassels

Tong Tong Fair

On Thursday 23 May Pascal Jalhay will present his book 'BaruBelanda' and make a dish from it on the Tong Tong Fair at the 'Kooktheater' at 17h.  His book will be available of course, and if any Special Editions are left, they will also be available.

You will find me also on Thursday at the Tong Tong Fair.
During the 61th Tong Tong Fair me together with Guave will be hosting 'The Batik Stand, A Stand For Batik'. From 23 May till 2 June you can find us on the Grand Pasar for everything about, on and with Batik. Come stand with us for Batik!




To read & see more:

Post 'Ik ben en blijf een Indisch meisje' on Rory Blokzijl blog

Post on 'Shyama in Boekenland'

On YouTube 'Pascal Jalhay & de Nieuwe Indische Keuken'

On Tong Tong Fair Kooktheater

To buy BaruBelanda 

Arabic Calligraphy in Dutch traditional wear

Summer apron from former Dutch island Marken

Dated 1920-1940

collection Textile Research Center

Searching for some examples of Calligraphy Batiks, I came across this piece in the online collection of the Textile Research Center. A Summer apron from former Dutch island Marken, in Dutch "zomerboezeltje", made from what appeared to be Calligraphy Batik. What a remarkable combination! So when Modemuze asked me to write an article for their FashionClash Festival collaboration blogpost-series, this apron seemed to be the perfect match, or clash, to write about. [1].

Calligraphy Batik

Batik is a resist dyeing techniek in which hot wax is used to create patterns on fabric. Calligraphy Batik, or Besurek Batik, is a style or type of Batik within the Indonesian tradition. These Batiks, often blue with white patterns, are full of signs recognizable as Arabic or Islamic Calligraphy. They were made on Java (in cities like Cirebon and Demak) and intended for the Sumatran market.[2] On Sumatra Islam was introduced in the 11th century. The style of the calligraphy used on Besurek Batik looks a lot like calligraphy from the Ottoman Empire (1299-1922), now Turkey, and it is plausible that the texts on Calligraphy Batiks were copied from these kinds of handwritten calligraphy.

Calligraphy Batiks are seen as talismans and give protection to the wearer. In most museum collections you'll find Besurek Batiks in the size of a headscarf.[3] These headscarfs were probably worn during prayers and rituals. There are also Calligraphy Batiks known in other sizes like sarongs, banners or even jackets with on it the soerat al-ihklaas – a verse from the Koran which would give the wearer protection.[4] Besurek Batik in sarong size weren't meant to be worn as such, they were used as shrouds or to wrap around important things like a Koran.

Styled texts

On old Besurek Batiks the texts are readable or recognizable as the Arabic saying Bismillah or as other prayers. Sometimes texts are styled into the shape of an animal or flower. A lion stands for Ali, a bird for Allah and Mohammed is depicted as a horse.[5] This form of zoomorphic calligraphy or zoomorphism is a way of depicting live animals without them being directly recognizable as such. The Koran disallows idolisation: within the Islamic Art its quite common to not depict humans or animals.[6]

Christian grapes and Arabic Batik motifs 

Back to the apron from the Textile Research Centre (TRC) collection, because: How does Arabic Calligraphy end up on an apron worn as part of the traditional wear on Marken?

The apron, called 'boezel' in Dutch, is a typical example of wear commonly used on former island Marken before the Second World War. [7] Children had within this traditional wear their own 'fashion'. Boys would wear girls clothing, including this type of apron as long as they "went in the skirt" (“in de rokkies gingen” in Dutch)[8]

Between the age 5 and 7 boys started wearing pants. The age depends on achieved nighttime dryness of the children. Girls would wear red and white chequered aprons, while boys would wear dark blue aprons with a white pattern. The 'boezels' of the boys in museum collections often have a bunch of grapes om them. I found this motif also on other clothing items from Marken and even as curtains for a bedstead.

This house😍A building originally from Marken, decorated as it was in the 1930’s💙💛Everything in this house is soooo wonderful❣️Where did our colourful past go? Happy some of it is saved at @zuiderzeemuseum 💛💙I need to explore Marken better, check out the fabric used for the bedstee-curtain😍#marken #zuiderzeemuseum #enkhuizen #exploringdutchculture #traditionaldutch #textile #pattern #yellowandblue #tiles #Iwanttolivehere #tinyhouse

A post shared by Sabine Bolk (@sabinebolk) on Sep 22, 2017 at 1:41am PDT

Protestans

A bunch of grapes has many meanings, among them fertility, but in this case it is more likely to be linked to Christianity. A bunch of grapes can be a symbol of the Last Supper and the blood of Christ, similar to the sacramental wine.

The population of Marken is mainly Protestant and this is expressed through their traditional wear in different ways. Not only the grapes, also in other parts of their clothing: they change it on Sunday and to go to church, for different celebrations or stages of mourning.
Between Pentecost (May-June) and St. Martin's Day (11 November) the Summer apron is being worn. These blue with white aprons for boys are in all kinds of grape-motifs. Later it seems all kinds of blue with white motif fabrics were welcome to be turned into Summer aprons.[9]  I found one with a chequered motif, one with a very fine floral motif and a couple with Batik-like motifs [10] and of course the one with Arabic Calligraphy.

Starting left corner clockwise: 

apron with herons (TRC 2016.0448f); 

apron with Calligraphy Batik-motif (TRC 2009.0048); 

insides of sleeves (TRC 2010.0463a-b); 

apron with Vlisco-motif of Star of David (TRC 2016.0720)

Imitation and original 

I visited the TRC in Leiden to see the Calligraphy Batik-apron and other pieces from their collection. The TRC has an interesthing textile collection with all kinds of techniques and traditional wears. The requested items were sorted from the depot and were put neatly on a board covered with fabric. I was free to take photos and to touch them!

To my surprise the apron turned out not to be a Batik after all. It is an imitation Batik. Another apron I requested also turned out to be a imitation Batik. I recognized the motif of a Vlisco Wax Print I have at home. A Star of David is surrounded by leaves with a craquelé effect on the background.
So the Calligraphy Batik from the TRC is a copy of a copy of a copy: first handwritten writings or calligraphy from the Ottoman Empire, then an Indonesian Batik and then an imitation Batik or in other words Wax Print.

Detail of apron from the TRC collection

 (TRC 2016.0720)

When Batiks are copied to make a pattern for a Wax Print, the pattern changes a little and become less readable. In the case of the Calligraphy Batik it would have been interesting if it still was readable. And if I could link it to an actual text or prayer which would tell us more about the use within the Islamic belief. I also thought if I could trace it back to the original Batik on which this design was based, I could figure out when and how it got on Marken. I found an original Batik before on which Vlisco based a Wax Print, so I started searching.[11]

Kain panjang ‘batik tulis arab’

Dated 1900-1950

collection Asian Art Museum in San Francisco

I actually found the original Batik in an online catalog, image above. The pattern is clearly the same, even the mirrored calligraphy placed in a triangle. I assumed the mirroring was a printing error, or a design solution to make a repeating pattern, but it  is actually already in the original Batik.

I haven't gotten extra information yet on this Batik, I will definitely keep on searching. The story isn't told completely yet, but what a story it already is. This apron takes us on a journey from the Ottoman Empire, to Indonesian Sumatra, through the Vlisco factory in Helmond to the former island Marken.


Two religions onto one apron came together in an unusual way. Is it a clash or a match, who knows?




For more:

See the original post on Modemuze for more photos www.modemuze.nl

Check out the project ‘Fake Calligraphy’ by Ada van Hoorebeke and Maartje Fliervoet in collaboration with Manoeuvre in Gent (Belgium), show at WIELS in Brussel.

Read also previous blogpost ‘Where Batik Belongs’ on The journey to Batik about artist Ada van Hoorebeke

Notes
[1] This blogpost was written as part of the series 'Fashion My Religion!' in collaboration with FASHIONCLASH Festival
[2] Nowadays Besurek Batiks are made on Sumatra in Palembang and Jambi 
[3] Find more examples of Calligraphy Batiks in the collection of Stichting Nationaal Museum van Wereldculturen en het Wereldmuseum with search words ‘Kalligrafie Batik’.
[4] More on the jacket online https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11840/169561. Believed is that this and other similar jackets were worn by warriors, or against the Dutch on Sumatra during the Aceh War (1873–1914), or when Indonesia became independent.
[5] Chapter 8 ‘Islamic talisman, the calligraphy batiks’ by Fiona Kerlogue in the book 'Batik, Drawn in Wax'.
[6] ‘Turn Of A Century’ on this blog with nice examples of Islamic influence on Batik. The heads of the people on the batik are turned into flowers.
[7] For more on the traditional wear of Marken, check out the second episode of Community Dressing on YouTube.
[8] From the book ‘Marken’ by Dr. P.J. Kostelijk and B. De Kock.
[9] Examples in the online collection of Modemuze with search word ‘boezel’.
[10] Apron, collection Zuiderzeemuseum, objectnr 021828. Apron for boy, collection Zuiderzeemuseum, objectnr 012284. Apron, collection Zuiderzeemuseum, objectnr 012285. Apron, collection Textile Research Centre, objectnr TRC 2016.0720.
[11] My previous Modemuze post ‘Batik ‘Tiga Negeri’ & de Java Print ‘Good Living’ in Dutch, on my blog 'Good Life II' in English.

With special thanks to Textile Research Center & artist Ada van Hoorebeke

Update 22 April 2023; The Batik Besurek from the Asian Art Museum turned out not be a handmade batik, but a blockprinted imitation. Another one with exactly this motif is in the ACM collection in Singapore. To be continued

Too Sad to Talk

After getting this mourning wear jacket, 'Jakje' in Dutch, from Spakenburg I have been thinking of its meaning and function. While trying the jacket on two ladies sitting in the café of the Museum Spakenburg dropped their knitting needles.
"Do you like it?" asked one, yes, I replied
"Fits perfect", the other one, yes, it fits good I guess
"Do you like it?", yes, I think I'm going to get it
"Are you going to wear it?", yes, I think so.
"You know its Mourning wear", yes, I guessed as much.
They were fussing, pulling the jacket and discussing the price with the lady working there. I wanted it, but I didn't know if it was okay. One kept asking if I wanted it, the other said, she wants it, I can tell. I thought the jacket was newly made after an old design. It turned out is wasn't. It was secondhand, or as one of the ladies put it "No one can make that anymore, they are all dead"...

After examining the jacket, we found all these little mended parts, new pieces of fabrics added and repairs. The jacket was maybe worn by different wearers or at least repaired by different hands. Most repairs were done with much detail and care, but probably the last one, was done fast and without finishing it neatly as all the other alterations. A jacket tended to for many years while it was worn during the roughest times.

Inside out, at least 9 different fabrics were used in this jacket

I'm so surprised by the details on the inside 

and I wonder if they are pure practical re-use or are these pieces used for a reason?

In de back a piece of carton is sewn in to make it stand up nicely

There are so many different traditions of showing grief in clothing. We assume that black is the ultimate colour for mourning, but probably it is more the go-to colour when people want to dress fancy aka smoking & the little black dress. Black was considered a fancy colour and still is. First because it was difficult, and therefor expensive to dye textile black. Later it had already reached its status and became easier to get, so everyone wanted it. As mentioned in 'Fragments Of' (see my previous post New Perspectives on Traditional Wear, which is in Dutch) in Brabant people wore black almost daily, and specifically for funerals & weddings. And it was common in more places to wear a black wedding gown.
I read somewhere there is a tradition of wearing torn clothing during a funeral, I forgot were and why (if you know, please comment below). It had to do with honouring life and showing your grief. I liked that idea.
In the Netherlands every traditional wear had its own set of rules. On Marken they have seven gradations of showing mourning in their clothing. In Spakenburg, were this jacket is from, after a first period of wearing black comes dark purple and after that five years, five years(!), of light purple. At one point you end up wearing mourning wear always. And this is one of the main reasons traditional wear, in the Netherlands, disappeared. The strict rules of mourning. The clothing didn't only express your loss, your feelings, it also came with a pack of rules. You had to act the part, you weren't allowed to do certain things. Going to festivities, go dancing and I'm sure there were a lot more things you couldn't do. I don't know if the rules were the same for man and woman...So it wasn't just expressing loss but actually acting appropriate after loss. Which in some cases would be more acting then feeling I'm sure. But I still think when it comes to expressing feelings with clothing, I wouldn't mind a kind of mourning wear. Not one that makes the wearer act a certain way, mourning is a personal process and shouldn't been surrounded by rules, but one that works for their surrounding. If you are too sad to talk, how great is it if your clothing can do the talking.

The back, outside with embroidered buttons

The back on the inside

I'm personally never dressing to my mood, I like to wear clothing that makes me happy. It has to do with people here wearing a lot of dark or "neutral" colours. Why wear gloomy colours when our skies are already grey... and if you look at our traditional wear traditions, gloominess or colourless is not really how you would describe our historical way of dressing, so why the gloomy colours? I always wanted to go against it. I don't wear black (got some black basiscs) and I never wear blue demin jeans. Both clothing choices were made when I became a girl. Sounds maybe weird to put it that way, but that is how I felt when I was 14 years old... Or better said, I embraced being a girl. It had not so much to do with dressing 'girly', I just wore jeans all the years before that and started a new chapter. I started adding more colours to my wardrobe and being totally fascinated by the art movement 'Impressionism' influenced my choice not to wear black also. Dating a gothic a few years later changed that for a while, but still black is hard to find in my dressing choices.

I'm still not sure if it is okay for me to wear this jacket. I think I can, because I'm outside of the tradition. I'm actually thinking of wearing it inside out. The most mended side on the outside. Honouring this handmade beauty and not offending anyone with the actual function of this jacket.

Strike a pose while fitting some traditional Spakenburg mourning wear🙅🏻🖤I spotted this jacket in the gift-shop of Museum Spakenburg🖤At first I thought it was newly made in traditional style, but it is actual wear and has traces of many years of being worn, changed and altered 🖤A wonderful piece which of course I had to have💕❣️#jakje #jacket #traditionalwear #traditionaldutch #mourning #spakenburg #museumspakenburg #black #patrern #handmade #exploringdutchculture Photo by @koendewit 😘

A post shared by Sabine Bolk (@sabinebolk) on Aug 21, 2017 at 1:26am PDT

Mourning wear within traditional wear is an interesting topic which I definitely will re-visit in the near future, for now read more on:

The colour black in 'Past & Present: The Color Black' on Design*Sponge

Article 'An historical overview on dyes, dying and fabric colors in the Renaissance'

Mourning Glory: Two centuries of funeral dress

Articles in Dutch:  'n Draadje meer of minder - dat maakt het verschil by Jacco Hooikammer and Rouwen of trouwen? on Modemuze

Previous post 'Let's talk about Chintz'

New Perspectives on Traditional Wear

'DRACHT' by Kasper Jongejan at KAF in Almere, 2017

In my quest to unravel the history of Batik, I also started unravelling another history, the Dutch history, the colonial one and my own. I started asking myself what is being Dutch and what are we actually talking about if we are referring to "typical Dutch".
The more typical Dutch traditions I explored, the more I learned we are a culture that's is mixed with, influenced, inspired and changed by other cultures. And instead of celebrating this, learning from this shared history and heritage, we dig our heels in the sand (I found a Dutch expression that is actually a correct English expression, the miracles haven't left the planet yet!). Happily I also discovered that more and more, especially young people, are exploring Dutch culture and are putting it into a new, fun, interesting and educational perspective.

DRACHT by Kasper Jongejan

Let me start with the 'Dracht' ('Wear') collection by Kasper Jongejan. I got a tip about this exhibition at KAF in Almere and was happy I was just in time the visit it the last week. Such a pity I didn't know it earlier, because 'House of Arts' was great and had many nice artworks. And what a location! I would love to make a work there!
Jongejan's collection is a new invented traditional wear for Almere. Almere is the newest city in the Netherlands on the reclaimed land of the province Flevoland. The first residents arrived in the seventies, a time in which almost no one wore traditional wear in the Netherlands except maybe some newcomers.  Jongejan based his 'DRACHT' on the Dutch traditional wear from Marken and Huizen, two villages near Almere with a striking traditional wear, and on the three biggest ethnic groups of Almere, people from Suriname, Antilles and Morocco. I loved that these traditional wears were on display too. It was for me a wonderful reference to the whole 'being Dutch' discussion, because all these wears can be found nowadays in the Netherlands. And frankly, the ones from Marken and Huizen will be hard to find in everyday life.

Display of five traditional wears found in the Almere region, in front from the Antilles

Traditional wear from Huizen from 1940, part of 'DRACHT' at KAF

Traditional wear from Suriname, part of 'DRACHT' at KAF

Traditional wear from Marken from 1950 part of 'DRACHT' at KAF

The five traditional wears were interpreted into a new collection of five outfits and a brilliant headpiece. And I will say it again, I will wear it in a heartbeat (do need it a size up or two), so if you read this Kasper, when and where can we order the collection?

My favorite, dress for a grown woman, 

part of the collection 'DRACHT' by Kasper Jongejan

Dress for grown man, 

part of the collection 'DRACHT' by Kasper Jongejan

'Caphul' 

A baseball cap combined with lace, 

part of the collection 'DRACHT' by Kasper Jongejan

ETNOMANIE by Ellie Uyttenbroek

Overview of ETNOMANIE at Nederlands Fotomuseum

Next, ETNOMANIE at the Nederlands Fotomuseum in Rotterdam. This weekend is already the last weekend, so go check it out!!
ETNOMANIE plays with the idea of and how to deal with the big collection of ethno-historical photographs in Dutch museum collections. Most of these stereotypical images are gathered and made in the 19th and the beginning of 20th century in Asia, the Middle East, Noth Africa, North America, but also nearer to home. The Nederlands Fotomuseum invited Ellie Uyttenbroek, a so called style profiler, to make a show out of these pictures.

"I look at the people in these pictures the same way as I look at people in the street today. And I use what I see to produce small style profiles"

She selected 380 portraits on their style. The exhibition consist of huge, curtain-like, prints of coloured-in black and white photos with short style phrases like "DUKDUK, Onesie streetwear"& "Indigogo girls, the holy source of long-lasting levi's autentic rugged jeans" on the ground. In a small room are the actual black and white, almost miniature, photographs. Only a small part got the special coloured in treatment, but I do like the selection on style. Such a simple, yet great idea. I regret not buying the book, if you go this weekend, buy me a copy!

Overview of ETNOMANIE at Nederlands Fotomuseum

Overview of ETNOMANIE at Nederlands Fotomuseum

"Indigogo girls-the holy source of long-lasting levi's autentic rugged jeans" 

style phrase by Ellie Uyttenbroek

Community Dressing by Theodorus Johannes

Community Dressing is a documentary series of which the first episode got put online in April. This episode is about the regional costume of Noord Brabant, my roots and the roots of the maker, the flamboyant Theodurus Johannes. With nice information about the 'Poffer', a North Brabantian hat/headdress. I like Thijs his presenting style so much and can't wait for a new episode!

For more on traditional wear, Dutch culture and my quest in re-identifying Dutch culture read my previous posts New Dutch traditions, Let's talk about Chintz and De reis naar Batik (in Dutch)

Let's talk about Chintz

Frisian traditional wear with Hindeloopen style jacket, the huge lace hat 

and Chintz skirt from the 18e century at Friesmuseum, Leeuwarden

Dutch traditional wear with a Chintz skirt 

filled with exotic birds like parrots & the Greater bird-of-paradise

I woke up this morning from a dream that felt so real and made me realise I'm still hurting from something I didn't really notice before. In my dream I was in a long line of people presenting themselves. I presented this intricate ricecarpet (which I'm not even sure I could make in real life). The jury came by and I saw everyone being excepted and jumping of joy. When they arrived at my work they just looked displeased and told me "I didn't fit the profile". When I woke up I remembered that the people next to me, who were accepted for whatever we were hoping to get into, were actually two people who rejected me in real life. Or well my work, but if you are an artist you know what I mean.
One of the projects I didn't get selected for is now on display as part of the 'Chintz' exhibition at FriesMuseum in Leeuwarden. I just read back my proposal and I'm still puzzled why it didn't fit. I wrote about how I would love to explore the patterns, the use of colour, how I am researching Dutch Folkart and how they are influenced by other cultures and how in my opinion you can't just talk about Chintz when you want to show the cross-cultural exchange caused by the VOC: "The history of textiles can not be seen without our colonial history and the trade routes of the VOC. I therefor would like to say that your project could benefit greatly if not only the VOC route with India is explored, but also the other trading routes that influenced the Dutch and many other cultures."
I got a reply from them that my plan didn't fit their ideas, research plan or final products. I believe that my candidness about their project is what failed me to be part of the team.
Only one artist in the "final" project addresses Chintz within the colonial history. Unfortunately in the exhibition only this is said about his work: "Luxury goods from the East have both a price and a past. Inspired by this, Jasperse designed a traditional Zeeland 'boezoeroen' (Dutch blouse) with a pattern that refers to the VOC's textile trade".

Super Surprise Pattern spotted at the must-see exhibition 'The world of the Dutch East India Company (VOC)' at @nationaalarchief. Exhibition tells the story of the VOC with a lot of interesting books, letters, maps and some porcelain, smells (hidden in globes, really!), videos and textiles. This modern print by @gerardjasperse from 2014 is one of the rare newer things on display. A Must see, must learn-exhibition you can not miss❣️#nationaalarchief #exhibition #colonialhistory #mustsee #textile #pattern #india #voc #dutcheastindiacompany #knowyourhistory #denhaag #gerardjasperse

A post shared by Sabine Bolk (@sabinebolk) on Apr 15, 2017 at 9:32am PDT

I think what bothers me most, is not that I didn't get picked. Well it bothers me, but being rejected is never easy or fun. The number of Artworks I could have made if a little more people believed in my plans would have been a lot more...But what bothers me most is the total lack of owning up to Colonial History.
I was super excited when I heard about the project and also about the Chintz exhibition. For me it seems like the perfect opportunity to talk about our past and the perfect tool to educate people. But there is such a big cloud surrounding our history. The fear of saying the wrong thing or having to address things we rather not talk about, result in, for me, painful exhibitions & lectures. It started with the exhibition from 2015 in the Rijksmuseum, 'Asia > Amsterdam. Luxury in the Golden Age'. It was literally gold, silver, delftware and tapestries. All the luxury goods the rich surrounded themselves with. Not a word on how we got so rich, what influence we had on Asia or any other part of the world.
I also went to the symposium and it was about four lectures on Delftware in paintings from that time and what people ordered in Batavia (Jakarta during the Dutch East Indies) to be custom made for their tropical homes. I understand that many of our past stories are hard to talk about or even grasp, but don't you agree this is not the way? This is not respectful, it is even insulting.
So I had high hopes for the 'Chintz' exhibition and everything that would be organised around it. Maybe I missed some hidden explanations in the texts on the walls of the exhibition, but I can't say I felt educated on our history by it.
The exhibition focus is showing Chintz, and a lot of them. Chintz made in India, both original and adapted ones, copied versions from Europe and new interpretations. In the second room of the exhibition they quickly introduce the VOC with a huge map, the work of Jasperse, a morning gown in Japanese style and a very interesting skirt. I first read about the skirt on the Modemuze blog. On the skirt is a scenery of ships from the Dutch West India Company on their way to or from Curaçao. To my surprise I found the skirt was displayed almost hidden, behind a travel trunk, in a far corner of the stage. I believe there is a blow-up of the skirt on the wall, but its so different from seeing the actual textile and the impact from it. This was something I would have loved to learn more about! The blogpost on Modemuze mentions there is more about the skirt in the publication of the exhibition...

The skirt with a scenery of ships from the Dutch West India Company (WIC)

 on their way to or from Curaçao at Friesmuseum, Leeuwarden

When Chintz is explained it is mostly put in context with the fact that it was a useful fabric to trade spices with in the Indonesian archipelago in the 17th century. And that it later, by the end of the 17th century, became a popular textile in Dutch households. First used in interiors then in clothing. Usually they leave it at that, no further explanation needed. Apparently everyone is well aware of our colonial history, trading routes and business spirit. Don't expect any TABOO kind of confessions... by the way, I can't wait for the second season of that!

Wooden fireplace figurine (Placed in front of the fireplace during Summer) 

showed with other Chintz that are suitable to wear in mourning 

at Friesmuseum, Leeuwarden

Chintz can still be found in our traditional wear, from amongst others: Hindeloopen, Volendam, Marken and Spakenburg. But you see it also in costumes from the 18th century that were based on France or English fashion. The fashionhouse Oilily, founded in 1963, based their designs on Chintz found in traditional Dutch wear and the new ones made in India. The Dutch brand was huge in the 80s and its typical colourful, playful and multicultural clothing is well known. Funfact, the Oilily scarves, that we Dutch link to a certain group of people, is actually a hot item in Staphorst. This little Dutch village known for their traditional wear and folkart wears these scarfs and transform them into 'kraplappen'. Their use of colour and motifs fits with what they traditionally used, but isn't made anymore.

When the ladies show of their traditional wear at @kostuumvereniging day 💕Different Dutch costumes from different eras❣️All with Chintz fabrics from India (or with European copies) 💕#kostuumvereniging #klederdracht #traditionalwear #traditionaldutch #kolonialegeschiedenis #colonialhistory #dutchculture #reidentifyingdutchculture #chintz #sitsen #leeuwarden #nederland #beingdutch #india #folkart #wearingtextilesfromallovertheworld #oostindischbont #geruitestof

A post shared by Sabine Bolk (@sabinebolk) on Jun 12, 2017 at 12:44am PDT

The Summer day of the Dutch Costume Association (Nederlandse Kostuumvereniging) was all about Chintz this year. A new part of the project, the project that inspired this post, got launched. I haven't seen it at the exhibition yet, but it is an alternative tour of the 'Chintz' exhibition. With the website 'Meanwhile in India', www.ondertusseninindia.nl, Saar Scheerlings and Lieselot Versteeg share reflections from India on the shown pieces. So for example a Chit maker, Chit is the wooden stamp used to make Chintz, reflecting on the 3D printed stamps in the exhibition. I quote: "Everyone sees it as Craft (Making Chit) and then there is modern techniques [Like 3D printing], but that is stupid. Because this newer techniques will became older and older and will be [seen as] Craft [one Day]". An interesting project which shows at least a little bit more of the makers in India then just the technique.

When you know you own that print!

Wimpje researching her traditional wear for the exhibition that is now at Museum Spakenburg

Another nice presentation was about a new exhibition in Museum Spakenburg. With the title "How Dutch is my traditional wear" Spakenburgs own ambassadors of traditional wear, Wimpje Blokhuis and Hendrikje Kuis, started this quest visiting museums in the Netherlands and looking at piles of Chintz. The little publication was sold during the Summer day and I love that their quest ends with more questions! As they put it on the website: Wimpje and Hendrikje went looking and came to the conclusion the journey is more important then the purpose. I haven't been to the exhibition yet, but I hope to go soon.

Me in front of Chintz-inspired items 

All items are from the museum staff 

They are shown at the beginning of the 'Chintz' exhibition

Sorry for this, is it a review, is a rant, or is it just one of those blogposts? I don't know, anyway, thanks for reading till the end and please feel free to comment below on where to see, read & learn more about Chintz, Colonial History, WIC and the VOC.