Zainal Abidin Hj Ibrahim A Pioneering Digital Batik Artisan

Local batik maker Zainal Abidin checking his batik designs

LOCAL batik maker Zainal Abidin Hj Ibrahim has made a name for himself when he became one of the few who pioneered into digital batik making. Unlike traditional batik making, digital batik does not require hand-drawing or the molten wax process.

"What was holding back my batik business in the past was the need for batik pattern artists and the ingredients needed to produce the patterns such as candle wax and material. With digital batik I do not need any of these," said Zainal Abidin Hj Ibrahim.

Zainal assures that digital batik making is the same as the traditional batik-making process where the only difference is the design of patterns via digital technology.

"Once the patterns get printed off, we still need to use the fixing of colours onto the material through a steaming process to ensure the patterns and colour will stay. It is a more commercial and technological process than the traditional one," said Zainal.

At 61 years old Zainal Abidin Hj Ibrahim is able to master software such as Photoshop Illustrator to come up with his digital batik designs. Zainal comes up with his own designs while he prints and produces them outside of Brunei.

"I can say digital batik has allowed me to bypass the traditional needs of batik making process. It ensured the survival of my batik business," said Zainal.

During the 12-year period in batik business Zainal has learnt that batik designs evolves according to the country where batik thrives. Zainal believes and encourages Bruneians to come up with its own unique batik designs that can be developed through instilling local motives and identities. His batik business has been aspiring to do so.

"Batik is not part of the local tradition but we can come up with our own batik designs with our own identity and values. This is what I am trying to do, offering made-in-Brunei batik," said Zainal.

Zainal realises that it is obvious Brunei would not be able to develop batik at a level which transpires into its culture and tradition such as in Indonesia where batik patterns have been noted to exist since the 12th century or even earlier depending on different sources.

"Indonesia has made batik as part of its tradition. Different patterns are given different names. They have a stock file of their own original designs. Batik is part of the Indonesian tradition which would be very hard to fade," said Zainal.

In 2009, UNESCO designated Indonesian batik as a "Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity".

Zainal underlined the birth of Malaysian batik in the seventies when it was introduced as a form of art in educational institutions like the then Institute Technology Malaysia (ITM) or presently known as MARA University of Technology(UiTM).

It has been contested whether the origins of batik in Malaysia were brought and taught by Indonesia. However when it was introduced to such institutions it was emphasised the batik designs was to be developed based on more Malaysian designs to ensure more original patterns.

"Young Malaysians then were vigorous towards the aim of creating their very own batik where they instilled designs from the villages around Malaysia," said Zainal.

In terms of batik, Malaysians were more innovative in trying to create their own designs.

Zainal is confident that Brunei has the traditional designs that can be incorporated into local batik designs especially with more alternatives. The batik-making process now is more accessible to wider groups of people with the presence of digital batik making. Zainal now produces his batik design through four different processes; the melting wax process, the batik stamping process, the batik screen printing process and the batik digital making process.

The Batik Desa Mas boutique can be found at the Sumbangsih Mulia Building along Jalan Beribi.

The Brunei Times
http://www.bt.com.bn/features/2012/05/13/pioneering-digital-batik-artisan

BAF's Sunday Seni comes to a close

Expatriates and locals alike trying their hand at batik art during Brunei Art Forum's art exhibition at the BSB Waterfront. Picture: BT/Zatty Joanda

LOCAL young artists from the Brunei Art Forum (BAF) gathered together once again after a three-weekend hiatus to put together an exhibition to continue the art exhibition that was launched last month at the Waterfront Gallery to commemorate this year's National Day.

The art exhibition featured a number of art works that were on display ranging from traditional oil and acrylic paintings of the local scenery to abstract and installation art that was set up by the Brunei Art Forum BAF. 

The artists have drawn their inspiration from 10 chosen words in accordance with the exhibition's theme.

These words include "tradisi" (tradition), "keamanan" (peace), "alam" (nature), "kesegaran" (vibrant), "dongeng" (tales), "kekayaan" (wealth), "tekstur" (texture), "kedaulatan" (sovereignty), "rakyat" (people) and "kehidupan" (life). 

Yesterday's event was dubbed as "Sunday Seni" or loosely translated as "Sunday Art" as not only did visitors of the exhibition had a first-hand try at batik artwork but were also treated to a different kind of art which included poetry-reading and music.

The batik art had an encouraging response from visitors as the batik art classes were held from 10am to 2pm and according to a member of BAF, the visitors still kept on coming to try out the batik art. "We cannot say no to them and we will continue on while our resources are available," said a member who opted for anonymity.

Visitor Lee-Ngee who works for a local private company was at the batik classes accompanying her son, said, "I think it's a really good event. It's definitely a good avenue to promote the talent, their passion and their skills."

Lee-Ngee found out about the event via social site, Twitter and made it a point to pay a visit to the exhibition and stated that she was impressed by the exhibition. 

"To actually organise something like this and to promote it to the community is an achievement, something we should applaud the volunteers. I have learned something that I've not known how to do (batik design) before. You get to appreciate the work but more importantly to get to know the young people with so much talent and wanting to show to the community, it is a culture," she said.

The art exhibition also saw a number of expatriates as friends, Wendy Haldane and Sue Longstaff also had a go at the batik art class.

Wendy Haldane said to The Brunei Times, "We've only lived here for a few months. It's clearly a much smaller place than the UK so we have to look a little harder to look for it (art scene). I can see the country wanting to make an effort to have new and, especially, artistic things. I think think there is a long way to go but there are more ideas that can be contributed by us (expatriates) to help the art scene here."

Agreeing to her friend's comment, Sue Longstaff added, "The woven silk (songket) is absolutely beautiful here in Brunei. That can definitely be made into pieces of art. My son came here during christmas and he is currently doing 'A'-Level Art. He took loads of photographs of the water village and he is, at the moment, translating it into his paintings back in Britain. He is inspired by Brunei."

Yesterday was the last weekend for the BAF's art exhibition. According to the exhibition coordinator, Syen Sofian, "The exhibition has been going from the middle of December and for February since it is in conjunction with the National Day, it is called 'Art Warisan, Heritage Seni' under BAF art exhibition."

He added, "We want people to understand that art is not just what we are doing, painting, sculptures, we have opened a pathway for installation art and other mediums. We invited other groups involved in the poetry scene and music scene to participate today, that's why we call it "Sunday Seni". This is a very casual set-up so they can perform their poetry and music."

The Brunei Times
http://www.bt.com.bn/happenings/2012/02/20/bafs-sunday-seni-comes-close

Brunei Handicrafts on Show in Bali

BRUNEI handicrafts were on display at the Asean Textile Exhibition here in Bali in the country's bid to showcase its traditions and prowess in folk handicraft.

Showcased at the Bali International Convention Centre, three Bruneianentrepreneurs who were flown to the tourist island courtesy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT) have been minding the Brunei exhibition stall since Wednesday.

A senior official from the MoFAT's Department of International Trade who agreed to speak to The Brunei Times on the condition of anonymity said that the ministry collaborated with the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports to promote Brunei's local handmade products during the exhibition.

"We're giving opportunities to local SMEs to market their products here as they would be able to promote their products through the exhibition. At the same time, they would be able to establish business network with producers from Malaysia and Singapore for example," said the official.

"The local SMEs could also use the exhibition as a platform to share and listen to experiences from fellow producers in region."

Asmad Hj Umar of Asnika Enterprise, one of the exhibitors, has made a name for himself in producing quality traditional fabric which is highly sought after in Brunei.

Asmad said the exhibition was an opportunity to educate the community of Asean on Brunei's identity through the art of weaving.

"Although the artworks (have some semblance) of Malaysian and Indonesian influences, Brunei's design has an identity and motif of its own, which makes it unique to the eyes of those who appreciate the art of handicraft making," said Asmad.

He said a number of delegates from various countries have visited his booth, as well as VVIPs which included Indonesia's first lady.

Sharing the booth with Asnika was another local firm Batik Desamas, owned by batik designer ZainalAbidin Ibrahim.

Eyeing overseas markets, Zainal was hoping to seize the opportunity to promote his Batik products through new channels knowing that delegates from the US and Brazil would be visiting.

Zainal Abidin recently developed an innovative system that will allow his batik to be mass produced in order to capitalise on the regional and possibly global market.

The innovation, he said, is "Digital Batik", in which he applies advanced software and engineering todigitalise his hand-drawn work, which can then be replicated to produce a whole range of Batik products from apparels to bedsheets. A prototype of a few of his products were displayed on the Brunei booth.

Meanwhile, Hjh Robiah Hj Ampal, designer and proprietorof woven Brunei handicrafts (under her company Hikmah Enterprise) showcased her signature sinjang, a cloth Malay males normally wear around their waists to complement the national costume, baju melayu.

Hj Robiah, who has participated in a number of expos in various countries over the years, said that the textile fair was an opportunity to not just promote her products, but also to get inspiration from foreign exhibitors on new design ideas for her future designs.

Unlike the trade expos whichshe has participated in Malaysia in recent years however, Hj Robiah said that the current exhibitionhas not gained much consumer traffic.

"The Summit is held near here, hence the security has been very tight around this compound, and the venue is not open to the public except for Asean delegates and officials with passes," she said.

The exhibition was aimed to broaden the visitors' insight on the cultural similarities between the Aseannations through the art of hand woven textiles. It was also a one-stop-shopping avenue for the delegates of the Asean Summit looking to bring home quality souveniers from the Southeast Asian countries.

Through handwoven products, the exhibition showcases the diversity of the Asean's cultural heritage and also the similarities of national history, culture and the community of the region.

Around 150 textile exhibitors from Asean countries participated in the exhibition, with more than 1,200 handcrafted products being showcased on the exhibition floor.

The Brunei Times
http://www.bt.com.bn/business-national/2011/11/20/brunei-handicrafts-show-bali