Breakthroughs in Batik

Jaafar is most revered for his innovative batik paintings. He called himself a “spontaneous” artist, who aimed to achieve “freer and unrestricted range of expression”. Yet, he became a master of batik, with its slow and arduous process. Jaafar spent decades studying the intricacies of batik technique and its constituents’ characteristics, such as the different reactions of dyes, the permeability of the cottons and the viscosity of beeswax and paraffin at various temperatures. He then pushed the boundaries of what each component or technique could achieve. To make a batik work, there are several rounds of wax and dye application, each involving specific proportions and careful planning ahead. Unlike with paints, once the dye is set and the colours are locked in, changes cannot be made, and mistakes cannot be concealed. The bold abstract forms of Jaafar’s batik look very different from those common in batik at the time, such as kampung scenes, local people, motifs from nature or repeated patterns. These abstract forms were technically very difficult. As Jaafar once said in an interview, “You never know what the result will be, especially with abstracts. It is very easy to make mistakes which cannot be corrected. A blob, white spots, dripping the wrong colour. This is where most artists become disheartened and give up.” The piece before you, Batik 14-87/88, demonstrates Jaafar’s confidence and mastery. Here, the molten wax has been applied using a wide brush, instead of the pen-like funnel or patterned copper stamp traditionally used in batik painting. Jaafar used the wax not just as a ‘resist’ substance to block absorption of dye, but like a paint. The result is a work with a bold sense of movement and expressiveness. Here, batik goes beyond traditional craft, to the realm of modern art. If you walk along this wall, you can see more of Jaafar’s batik paintings. See if you can pick out the different ways he has applied molten wax: in lines, brushstrokes, or even splatters and drips like Jackson Pollock.