BATIK & History

Batik is a beautiful timeless piece of creation that is visually pleasant to the eye as it involves plenty of vivid colours and imagery. On the 27th November, our FID students went for an excursion to the heart of Kuala Lumpur, to a part factory;part merchandise shop called, 'Jadi Batek'. For one of our 2-Dimensional Design assignments, we were required to create our very own batik. All materials were supplied for and it was an amazing experience. Before I describe more about what we have done, let's take a walk through history...

HISTORY OF MALAYSIAN BATIK

2000 years ago in the Middle East, India and Central Asia, batik has been independently developed by these nations. Batik has reached its greatest achievement in Indonesia, (The Island of Java). Although the origins are not easy to trace, it is apparent that batik has reached Malaysia through trade exchanges as the earlier batik of Malaysia were heavily inspired by Javanese designs. The earliest stage of batik was done by using wooden blocks carved with motifs. This technique is known as 'batik chop'. 'Batik tulis' came about later in Malaysia and it was quite new back then, encouraging the artists to draw with their free hand. At that time, commerical production of batik began. Malaysian batik has plenty of visuals  

influenced by Islamic values such as having flora and fauna motifs as well as certain Islamic quotes. If comparing Malaysian and Indonesian batik, our motifs are bigger and less refined. Apart from the previous techniques, there is also 'Batik Canting' and 'Batik Celup'. Here are a few examples of batik that uses different techniques:

BATIK CHOP

http://blog.batiks.com/?page_id=1042

http://fairweatherprints.com/product/standing-raven-quilt-block-on-blue-chop-batik/

BATIK TULIS

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Batik_Tulis.jpg

http://mirahbiru4batikmadura.wordpress.com/2009/05/13/batik-madura-motif-bunga/sb6001/

BATIK CANTING

http://java.eyelid.co.uk/batik.html

                                

                                  http://wawamagic.blogspot.com/


                  BATIK CELUP                                          

http://zuraidashafiei.blogspot.com/2009/11/batik-pelangi-teknik-ikat-dan-celup.html


The Batik technique that we have applied for our batik design that day was 'Batik Canting'. The staff at Jadi Batek had prepared a big piece of cloth in which they had sectioned off for everyone. Firstly, we have to use the canting, a tool that we constantly refill with very HOT wax to outline our design, either using an example or from your own mind. Before painting, the outline must be complete in the sense that it should not have a broken line.
 (** to prevent the ink from spreading later)

After that, you are free to colour the design anyhow you wish, but, to ensure that your design is nice, don't be shy to experiment with the different colours and various tones! Also, rememeber to add the shadows, as it will make your design stand out more! =) Here is my batik design :


This design is based upon a red-eyed tree frog. This particular frog is aplenty in South and North America and often are they used as an icon to promote the good cause of saving the world's rainforest. Although they are not endangered species, their habitat is fast dwindling.



In my opinion, they are beautiful amphibians. The amazing fact about this frog is their red eyes. In order to protect themselves from enemies, they utilize their big red eyes to startle their enemies, giving them that momentary pause to leap to safety. This technique is known as ' startle coloration'. Apart from their eyes, their vivid green bodies give them the advantage to shock their enemies (similar to a situation whereby in the dark, we see nothing but, once a bright light is switched on, it will give us a momentary pause to allow our eyes to adapt) because of the bright colours. Most of their enemies are nocturnal ,that is why their green bodies are handy defenses.

The reason I chose this design is because I like frogs myself and apparently since Malaysia is abundant with rainforest (coming from one of the biggest rainforest state myself) itself. I believe that the colours i have used blend well together and it makes me feel very calm and peaceful. All in all, batik was a fun and enjoying experience. However, it is a form of traditional art that only gets better after time & practice!practice!practice! The more intricate, the more expensive and amazing it is. But, if you are a beginner and you literally Suck at painting or art, then batik is just the right art for you as it is easy and direct. 

References:

- National Geographic. (2013). Red Eyed Tree Frog. Retrieved from http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/amphibians/red-eyed-tree-frog/

- ArticleBiz. (2013). History of Batik Malaysia. Retrieved from http://www.articlebiz.com/article/68776-1-history-of-batik-malaysia/

- The Batik Guild. (2013). History of Batik. Retrieved from http://www.batikguild.org.uk/history.asp