Rare and Unusual Textiles of the Indonesian Archipelago
Genre : Textiles
Period : September 25 till November 20 Everyday, 10.00AM till 8.00PM
Location : Alila Ubud Gallery, Desa Melinggih Kelod, Payangan. Tel: 975963
The Alila Ubud Gallery is currently displaying an exhibition of “Rare and Unusual Textiles of the Indonesian Archipelago”. The gallery would like to stress that this is not meant to be a complete exhibition or an overview of Indonesian textiles. Rather, as the title states, it is an exhibition of rare and unusual textiles that the gallery felt were really interesting and worth seeing for one reason or another – from the historical point of view, or for reasons of technique, or because “we had just never seen anything like it before”. Ms. Jasleen Dhamija, one of the world’s leading textile authorities, says: “I do believe Indonesian textiles as a whole are the greatest body of textiles in the world, taking into consideration the incredible variety, the amazing technical ability achieved, and the level of artistry attained”. The Alila Gallery concurs with Ms. Dhamija and asks visitors to the exhibition to look at the show from two basic points of view: as a collection of wearing apparel (almost all the exhibits are dated late 19th or early 20th Century, and were worn except for the few ritual cloths that were hung) and as visual art, that is, like paintings. “As you walk through the exhibition we hope you are thinking Chanel, Lagerfeld and YSL as well as Klimt, Picasso and Rothko”. Nobody is claiming that these textiles inspired these artists but there are some remarkable similarities. For those of us not conversant with thread counts it is a pretty neat way of approaching the show. For example:
A tie-dye Selendang (shoulder cloth) has, as its central motif, a large, blurry, grey square which floats over a deep burgundy background. The Selendang has the same dimensions, and looks exactly like, a Mark Rothko painting.
Peter Blake, one of the fathers of Pop Art, would positively drool over a Batik Sarong from the North Coast of Java. Two-thirds of the Sarong depicts turn of the century Batavian Popular Culture such as the Dutch Java Bank, coins and bank-notes, automobiles, hot-air balloons, airplanes and trishaws. The third of the Sarong remaining is given over to a frenzied floral pattern. The composition, and madly juxtaposed images, is up-to-date contemporary.
An electric length of mixed silk, in bright zigzagging stripes of yellow, red, green, blue, violet and orange, vibrates and dazzles just like a Bridget Riley Op Art painting. In reality, this material is actually a shroud or Cloth for Wrapping the Dead. Probably not everybody’s cup-of-tea, but, never-the-less, it is a stunning piece of material that creates fabulous optical illusions.
Regarding these antique textiles as paintings is a novel way of appreciating this exhibition and it confirms that old adage “nothing is new and everything is new”. This show demonstrates that all art is an ongoing process of re-birth and regeneration. The exhibition is well worth a visit and deserves public support. A percentage of the sales from the show will be donated to the East Bali Poverty Project “helping disadvantaged children to help themselves”.
