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Lotus and Dragon (Cantik dan Tangguh) is featured in aNERDgallery’s exhibition inVISIBLE: Exploring and Redefining Femininity Through Batik, in partnership with Together-Gether SG.
inVISIBLE Exhibition Artwork Label
Both the lotus and dragon are highly regarded in the Chinese tradition. Lotus thrives on still and muddy water infested with insects and bacteria. The hollow stem represents the basic quality of a woman who constantly forms a “cavity” in her heart to feel empathy for others. The wide leaf, an analogy to the open mind that is ready to receive suggestions and criticism while remaining humble in upholding values and tradition.
Dragon is one of the four mythical creatures (other than turtle, phoenix and qilin) highly viewed in the Chinese culture. In this piece, it represents a woman’s strength and compassion to battle any hardship.[/learn_more]
Curator’s Note
Looking through Ratih’s works that were commissioned for the exhibition, we discovered that she is an artist who does not conform to the norm. In this work, she used Chinese dragons to depict the character of a female when the dragons are often used to symbolize masculine strength and power.[/learn_more]
Product Description
Two entities, one world.
One is an animal, one is a plant;
One flies actively in the sky or crawling through the ground, one sits still on muddy water;
One is fictional, one is real.
Dragon is one of the four Chinese mythical creatures that are highly regarded alongside turtle, phoenix and qilin. It is also known for its strength and tenacity. On the other hand, the lotus represents the calmness and the shining beauty even under the toughest and filthiest environment. These two elements are united by the off-white patches with cracked wax pattern which represents water or the sky. The vast background also symbolizes that there is no limit to how a woman can shine.
For this work, the white cloth is first dyed with beige colour before any waxing step. After the first dyeing, the outline is waxed, followed by the dragons and the flowers coloured using a colet (brushing) method. These colourful dragons, flowers and the white patches are waxed to protect the colours. The beiged water/sky component is softly waxed to produce a fine crack (i.e. batik remukan). The whole cloth are then dipped into a black vat before boiling it in soda ash solution to remove the wax.
- Size: 225 cm x 105 cm (88.6” x 41.3”)
- Material: Rhemasol and Naphtol dye on Primissima cotton
- Pattern: Lotus and dragons
- Technique: Hand-drawn batik
- Production Area: Yogyakarta, Indonesia
- Year of Production: 2018
Listing last update: 10 April 2020
