テキスタイル

Impression of the Japanese market in Leiden

Inge Timan & Koen de Wit at the exhibition Silk Splendour

On 24 May we went to the Japanese Market in Leiden. The Japanmuseum SieboldHuis organizes this event on the street in front of the museum. My lover Koen and my good friend Inge Timan are both big fans of Japanese culture (the way I'm a very big fan of Indonesian culture) so it sounded like the perfect day to spend together. 

Through the very busy street, we first made our way to the museum. A special exhibition was being held showing 16 kimonos by Itchiku Kubota (1917-2003). I didn't know about this legend, but when we entered the room, we knew immediately. 

The room was filled with huge kimonos that were of a vague pastel colour, yet they sparkled vibrantly. In the kimonos landscapes were being revealed of setting suns and snowy mountains. The colours and texture make patterns of leaves, flowers, rivers, snowflakes and birds.
A depth in layers, zooming in, and in, and in.
The pastel colour fading showed that it was a kind of tie dye technique. But with so many colours and  with an amazing variety and purity of colour.

Dazzled by the technique of these wonderful pieces, we watched a short film about the making of it in the exhibition. In the video below 'Kimono As Art' you see how Itchiku Kubota got inspired to make these works. He first got introduced to Tsujigahana when he saw a cloth made with this technique from the 16th century when he was twenty. “My heart was beating faster; I was moved, trembling and fascinated in the face of such mastery and refinement of beauty. For over three hours I remained transfixed there in the deserted museum hall contemplating this little fragment of fabric which seemed to have been on display in the showcase for me alone.”
But many things happened before he could finally make the extinct technique his own. He start reviving and rewriting the textile dyeing Tsujigahana in his own way. There was no other way, because the art form wasn't practiced anymore. From age 43 till 60 he worked on unveiling the mystery of Tsujigahana. How could he get the fine grey-blurry line that defines a true Tsujigahana?
His queste to make this technique his own, and to make it live on, is inspiring and admirable.
In the first part of the video below (at 4min) you get a glimpse of how the fabric is turned into an artwork by sewing, knotting, wrapping and dyeing. He laughs about his impatient character and how he could ever thought of choosing this specific, detailed, long processed technique.
With up to 30 different dyes to make his landscapes he talks not about the way or the how long, but the importance of sharing a story with an audience. He experienced the most beautiful thing he ever saw in the most awful period in his life. He says in the video: "I want my textiles to tell a story". What this story is, he doesn't share, but I think he wants to tells us about hope, perseverance and following your dreams. Maybe they sound like a pile of cliches, but when someone makes these works at the ago of 80 with the plan to create 80 pieces in total, getting all wound up because his key piece in his exhibition in Washington is put into a corner, you just hope you can achieve a little of what he have done or at least enjoy beauty even when things are getting tough.

After the great exhibition at the SieboldHuis we went outside to see the market. The goodies weren't that impressive, but the visitors: Sugoi! First photo-collage of this post is a little overview of the day. A lot of people were wearing kimono's, but also a few Japanese Lolita's were showing of their lace & bows. We wanted everything and nothing at the stalls and only bought sushi, which was freshly made in front of us and was super good!
So we will definitely visit the Japanese market again next time!

More about Itchiku Kubota and his wonderful collection on www.thekubotacollection.com
More about the Janpanmuseum SieboldHuis on www.sieboldhuis.org

Before ending this post, I want to share one more thing!
My friend Inge Timan who I mentioned earlier in this post is not only a big fan of Japan, but also a very talented artist. She will be giving a Shibori workshop at the lovely Camera Japan Festival 2015 on Saturday the 26th of September. Shibori is a tie-dyeing technique and forms the base for Itchiku Kubota's Tsujigahana. So a perfect way to get an introduction in the wonderful world of Japanese textiles dyeing!

More about Camera Japan Festival on camerajapan.nl
More about Inge Timan on cargocollective.com


* blogpost title "テキスタイル" is Japanese for "Textile"

Batik Statement Fashionshow II

Photo used in the news online

Photo by Peter van Hoek

Backstage ready for the show, photo by me

On Sunday 17 May I gave a second Batik Statement Fashionshow. It was two year ago that I was invited by the same organization of Festival Budaya where I made my first fashionshow, the Batik Statement Fashionshow. A lot has happend in that short period of time, and it was so nice to prepare a new show again. My love for Batik keeps on growing and when Vlisco is making posts about their heritage with Batik, believe me, Batik is becoming trendy! So the perfect moment to make a Batik Statement! 

I was lucky to borrow some nice Batiks from Marlisa, most of which are being sold at Taman Indonesia, and have her as an extra model. We shared a stall that day showing our love for Batik and selling some Batik products. And I'm looking forward continuing that!

In December I got a sewing machine so I made a lot of new Batik bows with matching Bintang bottle-cap earrings, which you can spot on the models. But I also made two t-shirts, one with 'KARTINI' and one with 'CARP'. These two ladies represent for me the empowerment of Batik and had to be presented at this show. I thought it would be a nice idea showing them as a brandname, making the letters out of Batik-fabric. A nice experiment and it was noticed by people in the audience, who complimented me on it later, so something to continue working on.

For the actual wrapping of the Batik Statements I used some classics and ones I used before. For my 'grand piece' that Marlisa was wearing I used 5 Batiks. I really want to experiment more with that, wrapping layer over layer, so lets see what kind of statements I make for the next fashionshow.

Wednesday I visited the Tong Tong Fair looking for Batik and portraying men wearing batik blouses. I was yet again disappointed about the lack of real batik (with real Batik I mean Batik Tulis, made with canting or cap). Every stall was filled with printed batiks, except one (Rumah Batik Koe, at the Indonesia Paviljoen, lovely batik sarong & clothing). And of the people wearing batik, only a few wore handmade Batik.

Feeling bummed out about this, I got the nicest surprise when I got home and checked my social media. I was thanked by a very talented Batik entrepreneur. "Really appreciate your continuous support to promote batik Indonesia in Netherlands. I'm very happy to read the news. Thank you so much Sabine...". My Batik Statement Fashionshow somehow reached the Indonesian news. The article "Ketika Noni-noni Belanda Lenggak-lenggok Berbatik" writes about the show in detail and mentioned that Batik is being used as a nice summer outfit in the Netherlands. It was and is still such a nice surprise and it makes me really happy that I can show people here and in Indonesia that we need to support and above all enjoy Batik. And keep up the good work! I'm proud of all the Batikmakers in Indonesia who continue making Batik Tulis and I hope I can help a little in that proces.

I gathered and selected the photos made of the Batik Statement Fashion in Best (NL). Thanks photographers for sharing them! And what you can not see on the photos is that the music was performed live by Chanelsy Moniharapon. He gave the models a nice percussion beat to walk on, thanks again for that!

Enjoy the Batik Statement Fashionshow II!

Photo by Arie van der Spoel

Photo by Peter van Hoek

Model is wearing KARTINI-shirt 

(freedomfighter and Batikmaker Raden Adjeng Kartini, (1879 – 1904), Batik origami brooch, headwrap by The wrap Life & Batik bow

Photo by Yola Vandergunst

Photo by Yola Vandergunst

Photo by Yola Vandergunst

Photo by Arie van der Spoel

Model is wearing CARP-shirt

(Batikmaker Maria Paulina Carp (1860 - 1897)

Photo by Yola Vandergunst

Marlisa is wearing a layered Batik Statement made out of 5 Batiks

Photo by Arie van der Spoel

Photo by Yola Vandergunst

Photo by Arie van der Spoel

Photo by Arie van der Spoel

Photo by Arie van der Spoel

Photo by Arie van der Spoel

Photo by Arie van der Spoel

Reference to and to read more:

- Article "Ketika Noni-noni Belanda Lenggak-lenggok Berbatik" on news.detik.co

- First Batik Statement Fashionshow on 21 April 2013 

- Post by Vlisco about Batik, "Travel back in time with us, Our Heritage" on v-inspired.vlisco.com

- Post on De reis naar Batik about printed Batiks and how to recognize a real Batik, 'The real deal'

- Post on De reis naar Batik about Raden Adjeng kartini, 'Hari Kartini' 

- Post on De reis naar Batik about Maria Paulina Carp, 'Give honor to whom it’s due' 

Hari Kartini

Kartini, in the middle with her jonger sister Kardinah and half sister Roekmini, 

in Semarang, Indonesia, 1900 (KITLV)

Tomorrow Hari Kartini or in English Kartini Day is celebrated. Kartini Day is an Indonesian holiday commemorating the birth in 1879 of Raden Adjeng Kartini, one of the country's national heroes and a pioneer in the emancipation of Indonesian women. Throughout Indonesia women wear their national dress, sarong and kebaya, to symbolize their unity, and the nation enjoys parades, lectures, and various school activities.
Kartini was a freedom fighter for equal rights. Not just for women, but for her people to be able to study and in that way grow on the social ladder.

In 2013 I had the honor of celebrating Hari Kartini with a Batik Statement Fashionshow. I used that day to honour Batikmakers, like Maria Paulina Carp, Lien Metzelaar and Eliza van Zuylen. What I didn't know was that Kartini made Batiks herself.

Batik made by Raden Ajeng Kartini, around 1900 (images found online)

As daughter of a Regent, her father was Regency Chief of Jepara, she and her sisters learned how to make batik from regency's batik makers. Possessing the skill to make Batik was the same as embroidery in Europe, noblewomen could show their patience which was a attractive quality to possess.*
The Batik I found online and in the book 'Batik Belanda' by Harmen C. Veldhuisen is surprisingly modern. A Kain Panjang, 250 cm by 102 cm, with on it two kind of flowers, European carnation (anjers) and a more 2D flower which was pretty common in Batik Belanda {Batiks with an Indo-European influence} in that time, in a fine, lined brown and white background. Small butterflies are also placed in a repetitive pattern. In the book 'Batik Belanda' is noted that she wore this batik when visiting Dutch friends. One theory why she made this for her unwearable kain, is that it was her way of 'rebelling' against feudal culture.

In other books and articles is noted that she wore strictly batik keratonan, Batiks Kraton, so batiks for royalty. On the pictures she is often wearing parang motif. Parang motif sometimes referred to as the keris or sword pattern by outsiders, the Javanese call the Parang motif 'lidah api', or tongue of fire. Parang are one of the most powerful of batik motifs with their strong parallel diagonal lines.

A photo of Raden Adjeng Kartini making batik with her sisters Roekmini and Kardinah in a garden from around 1898 was brought to the Netherlands by her brother Kartono. The image was used in the book 'De Batik-Kunst in Nederlandsch-Indië en hare geschiedenis' by G.P. Rouffaer and H.H. Juynboll, many other publications about the Dutch Indies and as a 'schoolplaat'. 

A 'schoolplaat' was a drawing or photo used in schools to visually support different subjects. The names of Kartini and her sisters weren't added to the schoolplaat, only "Teekenen met was voor de Batikweverij Java"/ "Drawing with wax for the Batik workshops Java". This image formed for many schoolchildren the idea of how women in the Dutch East Indies lived. Which is far removed from how most lived their daily live in the Dutch East Indies.

In the same year, 1898, De Nationale Tentoonstelling van Vrouwenarbeid, The Dutch National Exhibition of Women's Labor, took place in Den Haag. Kartini had close connection with the Dutch women movement and made a contribution for the exhibition consisting of different Indonesian crafts like woodcarvings, painting and batiks including works from her own hand.
She also wrote an essay about the Art of Batik. This paper explaining the technique was according to the book 'Feministische Openbaarheid' not used for the exhibition. This didn't sit well with Kartini and she was very happy when she got the news that Rouffaer and Juynboll were going publish it in their book about the Art of Batik. However, in the actual book 'De Batik-Kunst in Nederlandsch-Indië en hare geschiedenis' her text was used, but not as an article. It is unclear which text belong to her. In the preface they praise Kartini knowledge and expertise, but her paper was only partly used and also her input on feminisme for the 'Nationale Tentoonstelling van Vrouwenarbeid' got lost.

In an article online I read a description of these events. Not only was her article with the title 'Handschrift Jepara' present at The Dutch National Exhibition of Women's Labor. It fascinated Queen Wilhelmina who read it at the Java booth, the part of the exhibition about the Dutch Indies...

Design by Suze Fokker, the beehive represents diligence and labor (yikes!)

Design by Jan Toorop. There was a lotery during The Dutch National Exhibition of Women's Labor and the Grand price was jewelery. The design is at least tougher... 

Wauw, do I prefer that last version of events... I can't believe that they didn't see at the time what her written words and presence meant for the world. And that it was only a few year later that her writing would make such an impact.
Kartini's dream was to study in Europe. When she finally got the news she was invited by telegram to follow her dream, it was one day too late. She just accepted Raden Adipati Djojo Adiningrat's, Regent of Rembang, hand in marriage. Her wish was very strong, but her love for her parents was stronger. She didn't want to disappoint or embarrass them. She was married on the 12 November 1903. Kartini's only son was born on 13 September 1904. A few days later on 17 September 1904, Kartini died at the age of 25.
After Raden Adjeng Kartini died, Mr J. H. Abendanon, the Minister for Culture, Religion and Industry in the East Indies, collected and published the letters that Kartini had sent to her friends in Europe. The book was titled 'Door Duisternis tot Licht/Out of Dark Comes Light' and was published in 1911. It went through five editions, with some additional letters included in the final edition, and was translated into English by Agnes L. Symmers and published under the title 'Letters from a Javanese Princess'.

I bought that book in 2013 to prepare for and to get inspiration for the Batik Statement Fashionshow. Her letters are very nicely written and the empowerment just pops off the page. She is one tough cookie!
I remember reading her strong words standing in this dull box of a working place waiting for costumers. Can't help but wonder if she helped me to quit the slumber I was in and start following my dreams again.

"We will not, we cannot believe that our lives will be only commonplace and monotonous 

like the lives of thousands of others before us, 

and as will be those of thousands of those who come after us!" 

- Kartini to Mevrouw Abendanon on 4th of September 1901

Have a great Hari Kartini everyone!
Celebrate the words Kartini gave us and make sure to never stop fighting for equality for all!


For my sources and to read more see:

- Book 'Letters from a Javanese Princess' by Raden Adjeng Kartini
- *Book 'Batik Belanda 1840 - 1940 Dutch Influence in batik from Java' by Harmen C. Veldhuisen
- Book 'Femitische Openbaarheid. De Nationale Tentoonstelling van Vrouwenarbeid in 1898' by Maria Grever and Berteke Waaldijk
- Book 'Vertrouwd en vreemd. Ontmoetingen tussen Nederland, Indië en Indonesië', article 'Nederland en de mythe Kartini' by Berteke Waalwijk
- Wikipedia
- Article 'Tracing the Motifs of Kartini's Batik' by Agoeng Wijaya and Edi Faisol
- Article 'Sporen van Aletta leiden naar Kartini' by Dineke Stam (in Dutch)
- Article 'Militair-historische context bij de collectie batikdoeken' on collectie.legermuseum.nl (in Dutch)

** Revised with slight edits on 30/4/2021

Nothing is forever*

Still from 'House of Cards' episode 7*

Juggling with my time, I noticed that it is clear to me what I want to do with my time, I just don't have the time to do them all. Or at least not as much as I want to. So my blogposts will be less frequent, but I think it is more important that I can write a nice post once in a while, than not posting at all.
A subject that is bugging my mind lately is very intertwined with my own work as an artist. It is a subject I already wrote about previously, but I think it is interesting and helpful, probably mostly for myself, to write about it some more.
Ephemeral Art, or as I call it Temporary Art.
When I get the question: "What do you do?", I answer: "I'm a visual artist". People mostly pause and then ask me: "What do you make?".
When I start my process of explaining what I visually make, you have to remember I'm trying to create with words an image in peoples minds, who I just met, of what I make with my hands. In other words, what I make without using words and is meant to look at, I have to explain to someone who is looking at me mostly with a 'What?!'-face.
After explaining that my work is temporary, I never use Ephemeral and in Dutch 'tijdelijk' is the best translation of "temporary", I tell which materials I use. "I make installations on location using wall-paper and organic materials. With the organic materials I make carpets using things like rice, beans and lentils."
The number of times people reply "like Mandalas?" is uncountable (just as much as asking if I glue the materials...).
I never really know how to reply to that. I mean do I look like a Buddhist monk to you?
Not everyone that makes Ephemeral tapestries makes Mandelas. But I noticed at the same time that a lot of so called 'Ephemeral artists' do use the Mandala form to create their works.
So I thought before sharing temporary works of 'art' I discovered, saw and adore.
I will start with: What is a Mandela?

Mandala is a spiritual and ritual symbol in Hinduism and Buddhism, representing the Universe. In Sanskrit, the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Mandala means 'circle' or 'of essence'. In various spiritual traditions, mandalas may be employed for focusing attention of practitioners and adepts, as a spiritual guidance tool, for establishing a sacred space, and as an aid to meditation and trance induction.
A mandala is made of coloured sand. Historically, the mandala was not created with natural, dyed sand, but granules of crushed colored stone. In modern times, plain white stones are ground down and dyed with opaque inks to achieve the same effect. Before laying down the sand, the monks assigned to the project will draw the geometric measurements associated with the mandala. The sand granules are then applied using small tubes, funnels, and scrapers, called chak-pur until the desired pattern over-top is achieved. Sand mandalas traditionally take several weeks to build, due to the large amount of work involved in laying down the sand in such intricate detail. It is common that a team of monks will work together on the project, creating one section of the diagram at a time, working from the centre outwards.
The destruction of a sand mandala is also highly ceremonial. Even the deity syllables are removed in a specific order along with the rest of the geometry until at last the mandala has been dismantled. The sand is collected in a jar which is then wrapped in silk and transported to a river (or any place with moving water), where it is released back into nature. This symbolizes the ephemerality of life and the world.**

In 2013 I was really exited because an actual Tibetan Sand Mandala was being created in Breda (NL). When I went there to document the progress of the carpet, I was so disappointed that the Mandala was not created free hand. The basic form was drawn on a wooden board with thick black lines and for me it just smacked the mystique right out of it.
When a few days later, they finished the mandala, I went to see the destruction ritual. The finished Mandala looked really nice. On top of the base form was now a detailed pattern of symbols made apparently free hand. The destruction ceremony was not very spectaculair, but it was nice that the audience joined in. They gave everyone a bag with sand which I gladly excepted. My hands were blue from the pigments and I couldn't help but think that this was a touristic version of the real ritual.

I decided not to make a post about it, till a few weeks back. While watching the evilness in 'House of Cards', I knew that I did need to share a little about Mandalas. They are so well known. And if they are used in a series that populair to represent good or goodness, it's good to know what they represent.
And to make clear that I do not make Mandalas. Using a temporary form of expression, always represents our temporary state on earth, but that is never all. The symbols, forms or kinds of material can represent many more things. In a way it is merely an material to express oneself and in a traditional sense there was no need to make everlasting ways of expression. Ephemeral Art is a rather new movement in art (well say starting the sixties) and is part of a long heritage of creating temporary works (and man is not the only creator).
Creating works that are temporary are not new, and are not all the same. There are many reasons why people create temporary works, and using temporary materials doesn't make it the same kind of work.
That is like saying all oil paintings are alike!

So to set the record straight, here are some artworks made on floors or on the ground, so like carpets, made from temporary, organic materials. They are Ephemeral Art, but definitely not a Mandela, although they have their location (lying down instead of hanging) and material (organic/temporary) in common.

Carpet from roses at Stedelijk Museum Schiedam, 2014, by herman de vries

For my birthday on my birthday in October 2014 I went to see the solo exhibition of herman de vries in Schiedam. I say Schiedam, because his work was in the Stedelijk Museum Schiedam, the Ketelfactory and in a park between these two locations.
I first encountered his work when Emmy told me this wonderful story of a visitor walking into his lavender carpet in Enschede (see and read in the post "Lavender floors and muddy walls"). When I went to see this carpet myself, I followed my nose through the halls of the museum, till I found this big rectangular purple piece on the floor. I was in love!
In the Stedelijk I really tried not to run through the hall to go straight to his roses carpet. When I finally got near some other people were in the room. So I waited till it was empty, closed my eyes, stepped in and just took a deep breath. Roses are not really my thing, but the way this art work works, is!
herman de vries is representing the Netherlands at the 56th International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia. Under the title to be all ways to be the Dutch pavilion will exhibit new sculptures, objects, works on paper and photography by de vries. If you are going, please send me a postcard (or a photo on Social Media) of his work!*****

Works by Lola Rose Thompson

Next up, Lola Rose Thompson. A (Onooo I have to say it now..) young artist from California whom I discovered on Instagram. She makes short statements and female forms out of flowers. Her work is fun, colourful and really now. First I was jealous and now I just like it very much! She has her own rough style and I'm looking forward seeing where her temporary art-road leads her.******

And saving the best for last, or better said the-art-piece-that-almost-made-me-quit-my-job, the sand carpet created by this little Japanese pufferfish. This little guy makes an extraordinary sand sculpture to attract and win a mate.
This circle of love is unbelievable. My number one temporary carpet maker was the Bowerbird, and still is, but this fish definitely blows my mind when it comes to making Ephemeral Art.
I'm so happy suddenly that my last name is a fish!




* Blogpost title from episode 7 of 'House of Cards'
** Information about Mandela from Wikipedia
*** A (glued) Tibetan sand mandala at Wereldmuseum Rotterdam
**** Read on page 166 of Design by Nature how to "Create a personal mandala"
*****More about herman de vries at the biennale on www.mondriaanfonds.nl
******More temporary works by Lola Rose Thompson on www.lolarosethompson.com
*******More temporary carpets I spotted on TV in the previous post "Temporary carpets on unexpected places"

Habito, are we what we wear?

In my previous post "Take some elsewhere, and let some come back to me" I told you about my Wax Print Tour with the Italian photographer Rica Cerbarano*.
I couldn't share her project yet, but now that she totally got the best score possible for her thesis, congratulations! I can share it with you.

Me & Rica holding the selected cloth for 'Habito' at Jansen**

'Patterns' by Rica Cerbarano, 2014

Patttern-pattern-pattern-pattern diorama 'Envy' by Sabine Bolk, 2008

When Rica first contacted me, I immediately loved her Facebook cover photo 'Patterns' from 2014. She created this kind of Pattern-pattern-pattern-pattern world I love and I thought it was so clever of her to use wax.
When I started this blog in 2009 I was still very in search of what I wanted from patterns. I created thess little worlds in which the same pattern was repeated over and over again. When I started to learn more about communicating with patterns, my work begin to develop in a different direction, creating my own patterns mostly in ephemeral works. I abandoned my PPPP series and didn't really thought about it, till Rica crossed my path.
Synchronicity is never far away! Maybe one day we can work together creating a patterned world, because I'm totally in awe of her thesis project 'Habito'. Her photo is an absolute beauty and I'm very happy I could help a little with finding the right wax print.


For my blog Rica answered some questions about her project, why wax and what comes next,
enjoy!

Can you tell me what ‘Habito’ is? 

Habito is a project about the importance of textile as extension of body. I got the idea when I started asking myself what is the meaning of the cloth we use to wear everyday.

For your project ‘Habito’ you used a wax print by Julius Holland Wax**, why a wax print? 

Because the story of wax print is the right answer to my question: if we don’t know the story, the origin, of what we like to wear, how we could identify ourselves with it?

When did you fall in love with Wax prints / African textiles? 
Can you describe the first time you saw these textiles? 

Yes, sure! I was walking on the street and I saw an incredible shop window, full of colored textiles., piled one upon the other. Some days after I took the courage to go into the shop and buy one cloth. Then, when I returned home, I saw the “made in holland” sign and I googled it on internet. From that moment everything began.

What do you like most about wax? The colour, the meaning, the way it is worn, the patterns?

The main thing that attracted me is the pattern, I guess. It’s very modern and traditional at the same time. Everybody can find something of their own it it, a piece of their life. At the same time,  you have stories that nobody knows, just African people and maybe a few of Dutch people… it makes definitely the best cloth for my project.

What is your favorite wax print brand or designer?

Surely I love the Vlisco designs, but also Julius is so nice and less expensive - so I have just Julius Holland Wax textiles in my small collection.
I’m not so competent to know the names of the designers, but I can tell you that I prefer geometric patterns.

Now that you made 'Habito', can we expect more wax print wolds photos from you?

I’m wondering about it. Maybe I can add other textiles from all of over the world, because surely there are a lot of stories I would like to tell through my photographs. But I’ll don’t give up wax print, because even though I’m not African or Dutch, I feel like they are something I belong to.

'Habito' by Rica Cerbarano, 2015

* Website Rica Cerbarano www.ricacerbarano.com
** Website Julius Holland Wax www.waxprint.nl

Take some elsewhere, and let some come back to me

"Anansi", Wax Print by Supreme Wax Holland

Textiles tell stories. Their colour and symbols, or sometimes their history. My little collection of textiles is more an collection of stories. Every cloth holds a memory, where I got it and who made it or wore it before me. Sometimes the story even persuades me to buy the textile. A lot of times this happens to me with the Vlisco stories, and also when I visited Helmond in December...

This story started a while ago. A message arrived in my inbox from Italy. A photographer was going to spend her holiday in Eindhoven. Being a big fan of Wax Print she was hoping to buy some for a project she was going to do for her thesis.
I gave her some information, and added that if she needed some help on the day she was going to Helmond, I was happy to join her on her Wax Print quest.
When December was almost getting to an end, I got a new message informing me that she and her boyfriend were staying in Eindhoven and planned to go to Helmond the day before New Year.
The roads were covered with ice that day, but somehow the train got me to Helmond.
A very cute girl and boy came out of the same train as me. I felt a bit silly with my big purple coat and silly woolen cap, but they felt uncertain about their good English, so I just started talking with them and heading towards the new Outlet Factory Store of Vlisco we all fell more at ease soon.
I had not been at the new store yet, and was a bit sore about it before, spotting someone on Instagram in the coat I dreamed of owing one day. That, combined with entering and being told that pictures weren't aloud, not even outside...made me a bit disappointed about it. I missed my favorite French saleswomen and after explaining that my Italian companions especially travelled to Helmond to buy wax and just got an 'okay', I fell a bit out of love.

Vlisco's Factory Outlet Store In Helmond

Fortunately the Wax Print Tour wasn't over yet and after a long slippery detour looking at the amazing, weird Cube houses, we arrived at Jansen.
The white door with a small Enter-sign to enter a greyish building in the middle of a industrial area, doesn't make you suspect entering an African market filled with piles of colourful cloths, including African women making business deals loudly.
I felt a comforting satisfaction coming over me seeing that not much had changed, yet what did change was surprising and lovely. The entrance was now a small Vlisco store, with the newest collection and even with a special European Super Wax edition which made me fall totally in love again.
After a short search, enjoying all the patterns and colours,  the photographer found a perfect pattern for her thesis project and bought the right amount of yards she needed. I hope to tell you more about her project, but for now I will keep it hush hush.
After the buy our ways parted. Finding my path on the slippery road towards the station, I spotted another wax print store.

Julius Wax Prints at Jansen in Helmond

Julius Wax Prints at Jansen in Helmond

Happy to get out of cold and always in for looking at more patterns, I entered the store. Rectangular framed iconic Vlisco's covered the walls and two racks were packed with wax prints. I explained to the store owner that I never noticed his store before and that I was happy I finally did. We started talking about Vlisco, his own wax prints Supreme Wax Holland and the stories they shared.
He worked for many years at Vlisco and knew so much about the stories the textiles narrated. He showed me their own original wax prints, a cheaper version, with sometimes a mix of patterns I recognized from Vlisco. They weren't all copies, more a mixture of iconic parts from other stories combined into a new tale. His stories impressed me and when he showed me his favorite textile, I knew I needed to have it.
In the center of the cloth was a huge spiderweb surrounded by leafs with a misprinted strip full of unidentifiable symbols. The cloth was dyed in a bright green with a white wax spotted beige on a very dark blue.
He told me it was one of the most popular patterns in Ghana and use to be a original motif of Vlisco that they didn't make anymore... It was called 'Anansi'. A story about a spider that is friends with everyone. The story was known everywhere from Ghana, to Suriname and even in Amerika.
I never heard that name before and was overwhelmed by his enthusiasm.
With another addition to my collection of stories, I headed home and a few days later I googled 'Vlisco Anansi'. Getting no striking results at first, I did find an interesting passage in a book online. 'Anansi' was mentioned in a book with the title 'Indigo, In Search of the Color That Seduced the World'. And that was just the book I was looking for.

Holland Textiles in Helmond

Halfway through 'Indigo' a fellow collector explains to Catherine why she collects beads. "For me it is not a collection of beads, it is a collection of history of others, a marking of time, of the things we shared. It is not about the beads, but the life they represent". Reading this sentence I knew I did the same. And I laughed on how I needed to have this spiderweb cloth, that I will probably never dare to wear.
Not finding the story on the Vlisco stories site, I continued googling and finding myself lost in the world of storytelling.
"We do not really mean, we do not really mean that what we are about to say is true. A story, a story; let it come, let it go... This is my story which I have related. If it be sweet, or if it be not sweet, take some elsewhere, and let some come back to me."

Anansi didn't turn out to be just a friendly spider, it turns out it was THE art of storytelling. It is a tradition practiced, probably for as long as man walks the earth, and was passed along the colonial route not only to Suriname and America, but also to the Netherlands.
Watching clips on Youtube of Anansi storytellers I felt stupid and ignorant. And I want to apologize if my knowledge of colonial history is limited and petty-minded. I'm trying to get well informed and correct me if I do not have all the facts.

Anansi the spider is not know for his friendly character, but for his witty and clever character. The stories can be old ones explaining how the power of storytelling began or how Anansi is trying to fit in in the Bijlmer neighborhood.
Anansi is clever, but he is also focused on power and wealth. His way with words makes his famous and turns his life into a rollercoaster of bad choices with surprisingly good outcomes. Making him the one getting the better deal at the end.
The tradition of storytelling travelled through the colonial history giving power and freedom to the oppressed. In the stories the oppressors could be laughed at, without them knowing. Clever, witty Anansi always beats them in their endless quest for power and wealth. Making him a mythical resistance fighter.

Two weeks ago I found myself at the studium generale of ArtEz wondering if I was a storyteller or an artist. A lot of dots connected and yet no straight road ahead revealed itself.
I just crossed on some things on the program that I wanted to see, realizing that they were all what I needed to hear.
Charl Landvreugd was to short on stage, but in the few minutes that he explained his project for the Tropenmuseum, I felt so happy that I bought the Anansi cloth.
"A conversation about memory, forgetting and Landvreugds performative revival of rituals of keeping memories alive where written histories fall short". I knew what he was talking about, I knew what the storytellers part was and why the singing women were dressed in blue wax prints. I didn't know everything, but I knew this is what I want to do with my work, with my blog and with my time.


Anansi stretched his eight legs as he sat in the middle of his web, watching the people around their fires in the evening. They were restless and the children were bored. “How can I help them?” Anansi said to himself – he rather liked people, being one himself sometimes. “I know, stories! They need stories to tell and to listen to… mmm” he thought.

He knew that all the stories were kept in a beautiful wooden box by Nyame, the Sky God. He also knew that Nyame kept the box close to him at all times. For this, he would not be able to use trickery and sneak it away from the Sky God.....