Archipelago of Signs. Garden of the Body.
A series of five performative paintings/costumes on cotton fabric, batik, dyed with natural pigments, mask (plaster, acrylic paint, oil paint), mask (wood), a series of photographs in historic buildings in Yogyakarta in collaboration with Adhiwinanto Semali, a series of studio photographs - Rafał Żarski; 2018
A series of costumes/images inspired by Indonesian nature. The hand-drawn batik design refers to selected motifs taken mainly from mythology and culture, but also directly from local nature. Each costume tells a different story, evoking:
• the flora of Indonesia, based on 17th-19th century plant atlases
• the symbolism of animals found in the mythology of East Borneo;
• masks and the presence of fauna and flora in traditional dance (the story of Prince Panji and Princess Candrzekirana);
• the “tumpal kepala” motif - the archaic source of an abstract motif that often appears in batik fabrics in Indonesia. Javanese batik patterns reflect cosmological concepts, emphasizing the balance of cosmic power among categories; based on the book "Wearing The Cosmos" by Robert Wessing.
The dyeing with ecological, plant-based pigments was carried out in cooperation with one of the most technologically advanced dyeing plants, BixaBatik in Yogyakarta.
The costumes are seen here not only as works of applied art, but rather as images with performative potential.
