VOL. 1.
KELIR BY ZAHIR: INDIGO COLLECTION
KELIR’s series of indigo-dyed batik by renowned batik artist and anthropologist, Zahir Widadi, embodies the masculine-feminine philosophy behind it. Zahir treated each fabric as a personality, where some fabric are feminine and some are masculine. He listened to how the fabric wanted to be manifested, designed and colored.
Zahir Widadi’s indigo-dyed batik is based on the pattern ‘tanahan’ (earth), a pattern that used to be hidden as a background in a piece of batik cloth. Zahir decided to combine these two hidden elements of batik together: the blue of indigo and the tanahan pattern–and give them enough space to be noticed and admired as a centerpiece.
Each indigo-dyed batik from Zahir has its own tint of blue and its own unique design–and if you look closely and feel it, you can guess which fabric is feminine and which is masculine.
There are hundreds of variations of tanahan pattern that were memorized by local batik crafters in different parts of Java. Most of these patterns have not been cataloged or documented properly, and KELIR is eager to do this through their research initiatives.
