Indonesian Batik is a process of dying cloth with amazingly intricate patterns and colors to create unique, one of a kind prints. The time-honored tradition of creating Batik has roots dating back 2,000 years and has origins in India, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, China, and Africa.
While in Yogyakarta, I came across a non-descript shop selling and showcasing one of a kind Indonesian art pieces. I met the artist and craftsperson who showed me the incredibly manual process to generate Batik; it consists of a wax-resist dyeing method applied to the cloth layer by layer.
Indonesian Batik Uncensored
Each piece (depending on size and complexity) can take a few days to a few months to complete. The 24″x36″ 2-color work I now have in my living room took two months to complete.
The result of the laborious process creates a unique, one of a kind art piece that no one else will ever have. Batik isn’t a large-scale manufacturing process; literally, it’s done in a small house where one or two people handle the design, dyeing and wax applications.
Pricing for original works depends largely on the size and complexity of the piece. Most works run between IDR 500,000 – IDR 1,000,000.
Through the viewfinder
