Flowers from universe : textiles of Java

Abstract

Java's original textile art is a perfect medium for telling stories from ancient Javanese culture.'Flowers from Universe. Textiles of Java' is based first and foremost on the memories and associations of Alit Djajasoebrata, who grew up in a close-knit West Javanese family. She frequently came into contact with batik in the form of the highly prized batikked hipcloths, with which her female relatives indirectly expressed their personal attitudes to their surroundings, and distinguished themselves from other women. She learned to associate batik patterns and their colours with social occasions and individual moods and was fascinated by the way women spoke about them. The association of certain textiles with history, mythology and music in Java's cultures proved to be natural and self-evident.