The Batik of Bali provides another
venue of showing the artistic excellence of the Balinese
people. Their beautiful designs, inspired by religious
mythologies to everyday encounters, spread throughout
the world. Originally stimulated by Javanese motifs,
dominated by wayang and other mythological characters,
contemporary batik artists have also experienced artistic
development that parallels that of paintings. Modern
batik artists express themselves through various subjects,
from objects of nature such as birds or fish to daily
activities such as cremation (ngaben) procession or
tourist attractions as well as religious and mythological
stories, accompanied by modern interpretation.
The Ikat and Double Ikat are two amazing
techniques that the Balinese have perfected. A piece
of Ikat cloth is woven in such a way that the ink is
'tied' (which is what 'ikat' literally translates to)
in one of the two threads. A Double Ikat recursively
repeats this technique; both threads contain ink. The
ink will bleed to its neighbouring area, and the result
is a piece of cloth with distinctive, subtle patterns.
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