Indonesian envoy launches ‘Batik’ exhibition

Islamabad: Indonesian Ambassador launched the ‘Batik’ exhibition titled ‘Indonesia Batik: Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity’ at the Centaurus Mall, on Monday.

The exhibition which is collaboration between the Indonesian Embassy, and the Batik Studio, Islamabad aims at transmitting inspiring innovative ideas and skill development in creative mediums and fashion industry.

President Pakistan Women Association Mehwish Sohail was the guest of honour on the occasion while faculty and students from National College of Arts, Iqra University and Fatima Jinnah University were also present on the occasion.

Ambassador Adam Tugio flanked by the guest of honour, GM Operations Centaurus Mall Irfan Ul Haque, CEO Batik Studio Mohsin Qamar launched the exhibition by cutting the ribbon.

Speaking on the occasion, Ambassador Adam Tugio said that because of the shared historical, religious and cultural linkages and remarkable similarities the possibilities for deepening of Indonesia’s relationship with Pakistan were enormous and hence promotion of people to people contact encourages the vital role that various stakeholders could play in contributing to the strength and vitality of the bilateral relationship.

He said that Indonesia was extremely rich in art and culture which were intertwined with religion and age-old traditions. The crafts of Indonesia vary in both medium and art form and as whole the people are artistic by nature and express themselves on canvas, wood, metals, clay and stone, he added.

The Envoy said that Batik was the most quintessentially Indonesian textile and historically the most expressive and subtle of the resist methods. Batik was intertwined with the cultural identity of the Indonesian people and, through the symbolic meanings of its colours and designs, expresses their creativity and spirituality. It was gaining popularity internationally as a wonderful creative medium and, no wonder, it has been added to the Representative List of Unesco’s World Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity which is the theme of the today’s exhibition as well, he elaborated.

On this occasion, the Ambassador also informed that the Embassy will soon organize “The Pakistan Batik Design Competition” in collaboration with the Pakistani Universities. He mentioned that the top three winners of the competition will be sent to Indonesia’s world famous Bali Island for a free trip and get two weeks hands on training on Batik Technique and Designing at the prime Arts College of the Island.

Batik textiles feature ornate motifs, patterns, and colours created by brushing or pouring hot wax onto un-dyed fabric. The fabric is then dyed, and the wax is removed with boiling water to reveal the patterns. This process can be repeated multiple times to create layered patterns with different colours.

Although it is common to see the mass production of batik with technology and machines, it is still made by hand in many parts of Indonesia. There is a considerable market for this high-quality cloth. Batik is gaining popularity both in Indonesia and abroad and the fashion designers were incorporating batik textiles and designs into their range of collection. The list of batik products was ever getting lengthier and the striking beauty of batik handbags, bedspreads, curtains and tablecloths was indescribable. The exhibition will continues till Wednesday (13 October) and displays some fine collection of batik and batik products.