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Magpies and Tree of Life is featured in aNERDgallery’s exhibition inVISIBLE: Exploring and Redefining Femininity Through Batik, in partnership with Together-Gether SG.
Curator’s Note
This batik pesisir (coastal batik) artwork is a crowd’s favourite. The design and the simple bright colours are familiar to many people of diverse background. From Chinese porcelain to Persian rugs, this piece is being compared to different things and ideas from their own culture. It certainly receives a lot of awe and opens up discussion during our exhibition. There is no surprise that this work was selected as the exhibition’s main visuals.
During the curation, it was decided that this piece represents the idea of “Fragility and Strength” best. One, the strong colours pop out against the white background. In terms of process, the application of ‘strong’ wax using a canting to produce the very fine and ‘fragile’ lines is the essence of the theme. Finally, the dainty scenery of magpies flying around is sandwiched between two strong pairs of lions, giving the contrast that represents the notion.
Product Description
This batik art piece has the signature fine lines of Cirebon batik which could take weeks, or even months, to complete. The blue/red/pink image of magpies and flowers on white background, typically seen in pottery, shows the influence of the Chinese culture during production. Magpies flying around the tree of life is a symbol of joy and happiness. The pairs of lion at the head and the tail of the fabric depicts strength and high stature of the family who possess it.
One of the feature of this work is that the colour and stroke are identical and even on both front and back sides, meaning that the wax was applied on both sides of the cloth. This requires high precision and expertise. With multiple repetition of batik, colouring and lorod, it takes a good few months to complete this masterpiece.
This art piece is versatile to fit space and field of any sizes. It may be displayed with a hanger or as a runner in the living room. The white background gives the flexibility to be combined with an existing art piece or against any surfaces and colours.
- Size: 204 cm x 52 cm (70.9” x 23.6”)
- Material: Synthetic dye on cotton (Primisima)
- Pattern: Birds and flower ornament with multiple colours on white background
- Technique: Hand-drawn batik
- Production Area: Cirebon, Indonesia
- Year of Production: 2016
Listing last update: 14 May 2018.
