The national museum (or Museum Gajah) in Jakarta I visited after the fashion show is definitely worth a visit to catch up on background information of the many cultures inhabiting Indonesia or for an overview of the many ethnicites on these islands. The spacious but dark museum houses a large variety of artifacts with explanations in English (if quite vague but not so badly translated to distort the meaning which cannot be taken for granted). I appreciated being able to examine the of the different cultures of Indonesia under one roof, looking at different techniques and materials and mentalities and comparing them to one another. After my first Indonesian fashion show, it made me think about from which backgrounds these students came from and which aspect of their unique culture influenced them in their designs.
What made me giggle to myself as well as shake my head in doubt was the photograph of a native Sulawesi lady with her bare breasts that had been censored. That photograph, I noticed afterwards, is the only one of a bare-breasted woman, although the traditional costume on many islands only covers the lower part of the body for both female and male; exhibiting these photographs has obviously been avoided although they are only documenting historical facts. History is being censored or avoided due t the ‘pornography legislation’, I assume. Also the grounds upon which a famous local singer of a boy band here has been send to jail for making private sex videos; him and his partner in crime have been banned from Bandung, the city where I live. A screaming reminder of living in a country with a different culture than my own; a reminder also of not taking the rights in Europe for granted. I also wonder if that photograph would have been censored in Sumatra or Bali.
Aaaaanywaaayy, back to the positive aspects of living in Indonesia, which DO outweigh the bad, by a ton of human teeth on a necklace.
Wood fibre cloth “serat kayu” was worn in many areas before cotton was imported. I was ignorant to the significance of this fibre, as the current batik trend seems to flooding textiles over all other traditional textiles. Below some piccies and also one of an ikat weaving device.
And please, ladies and gentlemen, would you take not of these hats! It made me want to get into the art of millinery! Is that an idea light bulb on that red hat?
By the way that woven pig one IS a hat, but only special occasions of course. And the last picture shows adornment to be worn in your ear lobe.
And just for good luck, as it is this object's task....
No comments:
Post a Comment