BATIK OF CHANGE

International Batik Exhibition Batik of Change

Batik is a textile form of art, where different fabrics can be coloured in great variants using hot wax to preserve each colour. The motifs range from traditional patterns to free interpretations and representational works.

Unfortunately Batik is often understood as the colourful scarves, shawls and shirts which are mass-produced in low quality.

The aim of BATIK OF CHANGE is to introduce Batik with all its variations and expressions to a broader public.

The exhibition will have three main points of emphasis:

• Traditional Indonesian Batik

  The collection of Mr. Rudolf G.Smend, Cologne has a very high quality and is considered to be the best in the world for this special topic. The textiles originate from the timeframe 1870 to 1930.
  With success his collection was shown in the Rautenstrauch-Joest Museum, Cologne last year.

  The State Museum for Ethnology Dresden will loan the oldest Batik (1860) of its collection.

  A special textile from Indonesia will be on display. It is a batik with gold, called "Prada".

  The pieces of Batik from these collections will be an extraordinary highlight in BATIK OF CHANGE.

• Contemporary Textiles from renowned Indonesian Batik-designers

  In this second section of the exhibition textiles of art from different Indonesian Batik-designers will show that the tradition of producing fine batik is still alive and prospering.

• Contemporary Batik from renowned international artists

  28 different artists from the Unites States, Japan, Chile, Australia, Indonesia and some European countries will participate in this part of BATIK OF CHANGE.

  It is very exciting to observe the development of Batik to an independent form of art during the last years.

BATIK OF CHANGE will show the whole bandwidth of this technique.

The name BATIK OF CHANGE does certainly sound a bit peculiar, but I have chosen it deliberately. The famous German rock-band SCORPIONS originates from Hanover and one of their most impressive songs is called "Winds of change", it describe the hope of a new beginning after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and BATIK OF CHANGE wants the audience to see Batik differently with all the variations, so that they can take a new experience home.

Brigitte Willach , December 2001