FINALIST 08

Batik is both an art and a craft, which had become popular and well known among contemporary artists and public all over the world, as a wonderfully creative medium. The art of decorating cloth using wax and dye, has been practiced for centuries in many parts of the world including China, Japan, India, South America and Europe. The word batik originates from the Javanese word “tik” which means to dot. Batik also known to be the most expressive way of creating art.

During this Covid-19 pandemic, a lot of people facing mental health problem. The rates of mental health conditions are on the rise especially among millennials, and the trend may be bringing down the overall health of the generation said a few researchers. Mental health includes emotional, psychological, and social well-being and it affects how we think, feel & act. But art therapy has been used as a complement to traditional mental health treatment. A few people who suffer from mental illness said that creating art can help you acknowledge and recognize feelings that have been lurking in your subconscious. As example, Mental Hospital in Central Java had provided art program called batik crafting as rehabilitation session for their patients. After the process, the patients will usually become more stable and have a calm state of mind says some researchers. This has shown how art can help in coping with mental illness.

And there also a legend saying that Truntum, a popular type of batik from Solo, was created by the daughter of Sunan Pakubuwana III. People believe that the Queen was sad as her King wanted to marry his mistress and she became so heartbroken and stress so she drawn those star patterns while gazing at the night sky as a way to express her broken heart. This legend also has special meaning behind the pattern. The Truntum pattern had popularized as a symbol of reawakened love, making it a favorite among brides and grooms. But we can also interpret the meaning behind it as awakened love to ourselves and the need to take care of our well-being after being broken. As for the batik abstract, the pattern doesn’t usually have meaning behind it, but to show that they can create any pattern in expressing themselves. Abstract pattern has a mixture of few elements and colors applied in the design.

In the batik that we design, there a few Meaning behind it. The way we create Tantrum flower (stars pattern) in Mega Mendung pattern (cloud pattern) is to show that we ourself need to have patient in life as a way to know our worth and love ourselves. The architectural elements used for the Tantrum design is repetition and rhythm. It’s to show that, the bigger patient we have in life can awakened the love inside and we can become a better version of ourselves. The abstract pattern along the batik shows that we always have freedom in creating things and it’s okay to be open and express ourselves in some way especially millennials these days and rhythm elements in architecture has been applied in the pattern.

Composition of batik on fabric;