Exhibition: “Confluence — Hindu Art from Indonesia” by Wovensouls

Dates: Oct 24th, 2023 — Nov 25th 2023

Where: Link

The historical connection between India and Indonesia is well documented.

We have the legend Boeeta Bandaan from Odisha, India that describes voyages between the two regions. Then there are massive temples in Prambanan, Indonesia that are devoted to the Hindu trilogy Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma. The Hindu culture of Bali is also well-known. Finally, in the field of textiles we see connections through Toraja ceremonial cloths and Patola ikats.

However I was ignorant about the Hindu influence on Cirebonese culture.

It was only recently that I stumbled upon a Batik artwork in which I recognised a figure from the Hindu epic — the Ramayan. That began my journey into the exploration of this confluence. Over the next few months I acquired several more masterpieces, all finely done with great detail.

At this online exhibition, I present 16 Hindu-influenced Cirebonese batik textiles.

We see stories from the Hindu epics, the Mahabharat and Ramayan depicted in large scale Batiks. It is said that this group of artworks — known as Wayang Batik — was originally used as props for theatre performances.

In some of these artworks we see over fifty figures playing out various legendary scenes and in others we see only a a single scene.

These narrative Batiks mesmerise us not only with the detailed fine figurative art, but also with the confluence of cultures embedded within.

Come explore the confluence here on this Link.

~ Jaina Mishra

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