You have casual Friday, but Indonesia has batik Friday because batik is a big deal. The batik industry was huge in the 18th and 19th century but saw a decline after the Japanese occupation. There was a batik revival in the 21st century after batik came back into favor with designers. Unfortunately Semarang batik did not have much of a revival, but industries in Yogyakarta, Solo and Pekalongan came back stronger than ever.
We visited Batik Winotosastro in Yogyakarta over christmas. It’s a traditional facility with a beautiful showroom and workshop that produces traditional textiles using both hand work and batik cap (pronounced chap). Above are some caps which were on display including a Yoda cap. We also found them making two different Star Wars themed batiks on the day we toured, one (may the force be with you) painstakingly being done by hand and the other a storm trooper cap.
After seeing all the batik in Jogja, we did some research about Semarang batik and eventually we found a small collective of batik shops aptly located on Jalan Batik (Batik Street). It certainly wasn’t the expansive tourist destination like the shops in Jogja, but we did find a batik that was stamped with a Lawang Sewu cap. And of course I had to buy it! See the resemblance?
It’s hard for anyone to appreciate all the time and precision that goes into this art form! Love the light colors in the last one. What does the cap look like?
LikeLike