October 8, 2018

The journey to Batik - Research Process



How did the story go of Batik Entrepreneur Carolina Josephina von Franquemont? These passed 21 months I found and discovered a lot, and I am working on the next step, a third journey to Batik. In this Time lapse I recreated my research process. With a voice-over in Dutch, I explain why I started this research and where I am now. With subtitles you can read my explanation in Dutch & English. Below you'll find a time-line for every time I show something in the frame; a book, article or textile

0:30 Daan van Dartels article ‘Koloniale mode: wederzijdse invloeden in Indo-Europese batik’ on Modemuze 

0:33 Book ‘Batik Belanda’ by Harmen Veldhuisen  

0:34 Book ‘Fabric of Enchantment, Batik from the North Coast of Java’ 

0:36 My article ‘Verzwolgen en verdwenen: de batik erfenis van Franquemont’ on Modemuze in May 2017, English 'What happened to Von Franquemont'  

0:44 Pagi-sore, Day and Night, Batik design by me, made in Desa Jeruk in 2011 

1:12 Article ‘Batik ‘Tiga Negeri’ & de Java Print ‘Good Living’ on Modemuze, in English 'Good Life II'

1:14 Book ‘Javanese Batik to the world’ by Maria Wronska-Friend 

1:16 Souvenir-cloth (‘Herinneringsdoek’) to celebrate Keti Koti with Javanese Kraton ‘Princely Lands’ style (‘Vorstenlanden’) Batik motifs  

01:17 My film ‘The journey to Batik - Tari Batik’ premiered in September 2017  

1:51 Magazine Aziatisch Kunst of Asian Art Society (‘Vereniging van Vrienden der Aziatische Kunst’), Jaargang 47, Nr. 3, November 2017  

1:52 Book ‘Indonesian Textiles’ by Itie van Hout, Collection Tropenmuseum 

1:54 Book ‘Batik & Ikat aus Indonesien’ by B. Forman  

1:56 Community Dressing Episode 3 ‘Bunschoten-Spakenburg’ with a contribution by me  

2:26 Book ‘Collectors Collected’ by Daan van Dartel  

2:27 Book ‘Technische innovaties in de katoendrukkerij en -ververij in Nederland 1835-1920’ by G.P.J. Verbong  

2:28 Book ‘Feministische Openbaarheid, De Nationale Tentoonstelling van Vrouwenarbeid in 1898’ by Maria Grever and Berteke Waaldijk  

2:29 Magazine Métier with an article on my work and research, edition 3, September 2018



October 1, 2018

What Batik Statement are you making?

Wearing Batik-mask (loan from Sandra Niessen), 
jacket made from Batik Cirebon by Kamaratih Batik 
& Batik legging by Baobab Batik from Swaziland


Today we celebrate the ninth year that Batik is the official UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage of Indonesia. Since 2 October 2009 every year it is Hari Batik, Batik Day, today and since 6 years I have the tradition to share a series of Batik Statements on this day. {I posted this at 19 p.m. European Time, so in Indonesia its 12 a.m.}
The first series was in 2012 and it was dedicated to the fact that Batik wasn't considered to be a fashionable thing. I thought Batik should & could be worn like that. Only 6 years later and I am exclusively wearing outfits made from Batik for this years series. Batik truly became the fashion item it should be!

This year I would like to explain what statements you can make with Batik. 
The fabric itself tells a story through its motif. So for choosing the right Batik to wear it is nice to know what the patterns mean. You can find some populair motifs explained in my Batik Statements series Pattern Edition.
I wear a lot of 'Batik Modern', Batik with a less traditional motif or in a different colour combination, so I can make my own statement with it. It is also handy to wear 'Batik Modern' to avoid mis-interpreting the meaning and rocking an inappropriate pattern to the wrong party. 
But making statements with Batik is not only done by the fabric itself, it is also done by how you wear it, or in what form. 
In these statements I am wearing three custom-made pieces; a jacket, dress and skirt. The fun thing about custom-made is that you can choose your Batik and make it fit perfectly. Since my second 'Journey to Batik', I have added 6 custom-made pieces to my wardrobe and a seventh is in the making. It is the perfect way for me to wear what I love and show off how it can be worn in a fashionable, colourful, fun and stylish way. So You can also make a custom-made statement with your Batik!
The last statement I would like to make, is the sustainable one. Batik is a handmade textile, either hand drawn with canting or brush or hand stamped with cap or block printing. This doesn't automatically make it a sustainable produced product, but it is a unique, high quality handmade textile. Different batik makers have different methods, so finding out which ones are fair, green, eco etcetera is a puzzle. But Batik it is always a better choice then a machine made fast fashion product. To find out more about 'Is Batik Fair?' please read the blogpost I wrote about it. 

Thinking about making this years Batik Statements, I thought of the graffiti I spot regularly during my walks in Utrecht (NL). The pieces change rapidly, covering one another to make their mark, to make their statement. With a name, a symbol, or tag, readable and not so much, walls are filled. I love walking past these temporary outside exhibitions and thought they make a nice photo-shoot setting. So I am sharing with this years Batik Day Celebration how we can make statements in different ways and I hope you share yours with me!

On Instagram & Facebook please use the hashtag #batikstatement and don't forgot to tag me! Or send by email to sabine{@}sabinebolk.nl. Please share why you choose this Batik and what statement you would like to make!

Wearing dress made with Batik Lasem, designed with TheAria Batik 
{I am the reseller in the Netherlands} 
and Baobab Batik leggings 

Wearing reversible skirt by Guave
made with Batik Cap on one side, 
and recycled & organic textile from Enschede on the other side