JP\/19\/PADANG<\/p>\n
'Fussy' Aussie fires Padang passions<\/p>\n
Duncan Graham
\nContributor\/Surabaya<\/p>\n
About 15 years ago, Western Australian textile artist Megan
\nKirwan-Ward thought it was time she refined, updated and
\nformalized her skills.<\/p>\n
She already had a degree in English literature, but wanted
\nqualifications in art.<\/p>\n
By chance, Elsa King, her lecturer at Perth's Edith Cowan
\nUniversity, was developing professional relationships with batik
\nartists in Yogyakarta. She invited Kirwan-Ward to visit Indonesia
\nand explore the creativity of local women.<\/p>\n
It didn't take her long to appreciate the great depth and
\nrange of batik designs that vary from district to district. She
\nwas particularly surprised to find traditional Indonesian
\nhandicrafts had resisted the invasion of artificial fibers and
\nmass production techniques, despite enormous pressures to cut
\ncosts and speed manufacture.<\/p>\n
"One day, we set off in a jeep to visit a remote village in
\nEast Java," said Kirwan-Ward in her Fremantle gallery. "We were
\nsupposed to get there in a couple of hours but we didn't arrive
\ntill after nightfall.<\/p>\n
"The village head greeted us with great hospitality. Then we
\nwalked down through the forest to a river and another house where
\na most beautiful woman was working on batik. There was no
\nelectricity. She was using candles that illuminated her every
\nmovement.<\/p>\n
"These were movements of grace and beauty, handed down through
\ngenerations of artists performing these traditional actions.
\nAlthough I've forgotten the village name I have an enduring
\nmemory of the event. It was a stunning and extraordinary scene I
\nwill never forget."<\/p>\n
The Australian was stitched into Indonesia, but it took
\nanother 10 years before she could return and expand her
\nexperiences.<\/p>\n
For the next decade she researched Indonesian textile art and
\nbecome fascinated by the Dutch influence on traditional
\nembroidery techniques in West Sumatra.<\/p>\n
Her studies led to an Asialink fellowship organized out of
\nMelbourne University and supported by the philanthropic Myer
\nFoundation. She then headed for Padang with a sewing machine and
\nsome vague plans about designing clothes and furnishings.<\/p>\n
Friends with a surf shop offered Kirwan-Ward a room where she
\nset up her machine and started wandering the markets for
\nmaterials and dyes.<\/p>\n
Passion Prints is born<\/p>\n
Now Padang, Sumatra's major west coast seaport, is not Kuta --
\nso a middle-aged bule (Westerner) asking about traditional arts
\nattracted interest. Soon local women were swapping their
\nknowledge and skills. A collective was formed.<\/p>\n
The planned three-month stay wasn't enough for Kirwan-Ward to
\nabsorb everything and develop her ideas. She renewed her visa and
\nwith her new friends and their families built a workshop on the
\noutskirts of Padang.<\/p>\n
The collective now produces a wide range of textiles that are
\ntaken to Australia, exhibited and sold under the name Passion
\nPrints. They include quilts, cushions, dolls, scarves, bed linen
\nand clothing. The materials used are silk, silk organza, cotton,
\nbrocade and velvet. All have been hand-dyed and stitched.<\/p>\n
Many look more like three-dimensional sculptures than works of
\nfabric. These are not batik. Most are practical and decorative.
\nApart from blue, most colors are earthy and reminiscent of the
\nAustralian landscape.<\/p>\n
"Islamic art prohibits the depiction of living things, so many
\nthemes are abstract," she said. "I've been attracted to many of
\nthese designs but I'm also influenced by natural forms from the
\nland and sea, particularly the reef ecologies of Western
\nAustralia and West Sumatra, for both front the Indian Ocean.<\/p>\n
"My work always has an organic feel. The first works I brought
\nback to Australia were so well received that the collective is
\nnow working full time.<\/p>\n
"It's difficult to source good dyes in Indonesia so I have to
\ntake materials to Padang.<\/p>\n
"Not all the women were skilled at sewing so there's been a
\nlot of learning. It's also been empowering because some women
\nhave now become breadwinners and their work is recognized as
\nhaving value.<\/p>\n
"Quality control is critical. I've explained that any work
\nthat isn't perfect won't sell in Australia. I got a reputation
\nfor being a very fussy woman.<\/p>\n
"This message is now so well understood that I've been
\ncriticized by collective members for not presenting stitch work
\nup to their standards. These are Minangkabau women in a
\nmatriarchal and matrilineal society. They are very smart."<\/p>\n
Kirwan-Ward has learned Indonesian to communicate with members
\nof the collective. She stressed that although the project --
\nwhich has been backed by the Western Australian government -- is
\nsuccessful it has been a critical learning experience for herself
\nand her Indonesian colleagues.<\/p>\n
"I've been a blundering stranger in a strange land," she said
\non the eve of returning to Padang to help organize more textiles
\nfor exhibitions in Indonesia and India. She had just come from a
\nshowing in Melbourne supported by the Australia-Indonesia
\nInstitute.<\/p>\n
"I recognize my influence can be positive and negative. I'm
\nmindful that because the cultures are so different I'm often
\nunaware of the impact of many things I do. I'm in someone else's
\nlandscape so I must abide by their rules.<\/p>\n
"This is still a niche product. But what's happening here is
\nreal connection between ordinary people who are neighbors. These
\nrelationships are productive and meaningful and so important.<\/p>\n
"If it develops we can create exchange programs so more
\nAustralian textile artists can travel to Indonesia and experience
\nthe richness of archipelago art."<\/p>\n
(For more details click on www.passionprints.com)<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/jp19padang-1447899208", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }