Atelier Batik

In Atelier Batik, Romée Mulder and Myrthe Groot from fashion label GUAVE collaborated with residents from Arnhem with Indo-European, Indonesian or Moluccan backgrounds to work with batik, a traditional Javanese craft that uses hot wax and dye to print fabrics with detailed patterns and motifs. They came together in Arnhem-Zuid, where many of them live, to work with leftover batik fabrics – from GUAVE’s past collections – and collectively dye fabrics following a procedure similar to batik. The participants also brought along photos and samples of their own batik fabrics and garments. As part of the creative process, they recalled memories and shared stories about themselves and their families, and the role that batik plays in their lives.

Romée Mulder and Myrthe Groot first became acquainted during their studies in Fashion Design. Myrthe left after a year to study Art History, and Romée transferred to studying Cultural Heritage. But they never lost their passion for fashion, and together they founded the label GUAVE to tell stories about identity and culture through small collections. Myrthe and Romée work with original Javanese batiks, and give the traditional art a contemporary twist by combining the hand-crafted fabrics with sustainable textiles produced in Enschede.

In their collections, Romée and Myrthe express their shared love for artisanal craftsmanship, but also a search for their own Indonesian roots. Atelier Batik goes a step further by connecting the stories hidden behind the batik in a collaborative work of art.

Following the Bumi Batik programme on 18 May, Hilde Wijnen wrote the report ‘Bumi Batik: a world of stories’.

Text continues below photos.

Bureau Ruimtekoers
Bureau Ruimtekoers has developed three ateliers in which a local intercultural community in Arnhem, together with a maker, devises, produces and presents a work for the biennale. The three Ateliers stand as a space for meeting, exchange and connection.

Petra Lunenburg
Fashion illustrator and artist Petra Lunenburg has recorded the process of the three Ruimtekoers Ateliers through various sketches. These sketches will be exhibited in the café of the Rembrandt Theatre during the Biennale.