Love Me in My Batik: Modern Batik Art from Malaysia and Beyond
28 February - 15 June 2016
‘batik cloth, batik clothing,
Java was your land of origin,
pretty lady, dashing lad,
like two halves of an areca nut.’
- pantun published in Berita Harian, 1959.
Love Me in My Batik tells the story of batik painting as a distinct modern art form in Malaysia and beyond, from its emergence in the 1950’s to the present day. Beginning with the pioneering batik paintings of Chuah Thean Teng, the exhibit...
Love Me in My Batik: Modern Batik Art from Malaysia and Beyond
28 February - 15 June 2016
‘batik cloth, batik clothing,
Java was your land of origin,
pretty lady, dashing lad,
like two halves of an areca nut.’
- pantun published in Berita Harian, 1959.
Love Me in My Batik tells the story of batik painting as a distinct modern art form in Malaysia and beyond, from its emergence in the 1950’s to the present day. Beginning with the pioneering batik paintings of Chuah Thean Teng, the exhibition examines how the medium was embraced and reinvented by generations of artists across successive periods in Malaysia’s post-war history.
The exhibition takes its title from Joseph Tan’s 1968 collage work of the same name, a witty commentary on the cultural frenzy that batik inspired within Malaysia as the country searched for an artistic form that suited its modern identity. Love Me in My Batik examines two intersecting stories: the emergence of batik painting in the 1950’s and its active promotion as a fine art medium by a system of colonial patronage, and also the promotion of batik by the state into a popular cultural phenomenon from the 1960’s onwards, which included the development of a batik craft industry. The exhibition will also, as an additional point of comparison, introduce a small selection of contemporary batik artworks from Indonesian artists.
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‘kain batek baju batek,
batek datang dari Jawa,
adek chantek abang chantek,
bagai pinang di-belah dua.’
– pantun yang disiarkan di Berita Harian, 1959
Pameran Love Me in My Batik ini menghidangkan naratif tentang lukisan batik sebagai satu gaya seni moden yang unik yang muncul di Malaysia dan di luar negara, semenjak kemunculannya pada 1950-an hingga ke hari ini. Bermula dengan lukisan-lukisan batik terawal ciptaan Chuah Thean Teng, pameran ini melihat bagaimana medium ini diangkat dan diolah semula oleh beberapa generasi pelukis sepanjang beberapa period dalam sejarah Malasyia selepas Perang Dunia Kedua.
Tajuk pameran ini adalah bersempena dengan tajuk karya kolaj Joseph Tan yang dihasilkannya pada 1968, sebuah karya yang menyajikan komentar lucu tetapi tajam berkenaan fenomena kegilaan dalam ruang budaya di Malaysia yang telah dicetus oleh batik ketika negara sedang mencari suatu bentuk budaya yang secocok dengan identiti modennya. Pameran Love Me in My Batik ini menelusuri dua naratif yang bersilangan: pertamanya, kemunculan lukisan batik sekitar 1950-an yang pada mulanya berlaku hasil dokongan sistem penaungan kolonial yang giat mempromosi lukisan batik sebagai medium seni halus, dan keduanya, langkah kerajaan mempromosi batik hingga menjadi satu fenomena budaya popular sejak 1960-an serta berkembangnya sebuah industri pembuatan batik. Sebagai elemen perbandingan tambahan, pameran ini juga mengetengahkan beberapa karya seni rupa batik kontemporari ciptaan artis-artis Indonesia.
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This exhibition would not have been possible without the support of the National Visual Arts Gallery, Muzium & Galeri Tuanku Fauziah, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, Yahong Gallery Penang, Batik Painting Museum Penang, Jabatan Muzium Malaysia, Filem Negara, Perpustakaan Negara Malaysia, Arts-ED Penang, Yayasan Budi Penyayang, Arkib Negara, Fergana Art, Sangkring Art Space, 23 Love Lane, the family of Datuk Chuah Thean Teng, Chuah Seow Keng, Dr Tan Chong Guan, Datuk Tay Mo-Leong, Fatimah Chik, Long Thien Shih, Yee I-Lann, Wang Zineng, Dr Farish Noor, Samuel Indratma & Eko Nugroho.
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Image: Tay Mo-Leong, Rubber trees, 1960, batik, 89 × 65 cm, private collection