Batik Ying - Original - Garden of Thoughts

Created in early September of this year, in a collaboration with Great Western Arcade, during a live batik making session to introduce traditional art and heritage. Throughout the event, guests were invited to etch their thoughts & hopes for Birmingham using wax-resist batik techniques onto this artwork. The final art-piece features these feelings as golden words that appear to glow through the “lantern”, just in the same way that Chinese sky lanterns (or “tanglong”) are emblazoned with well wishes so that hopes and dreams are taken up into the sky.

“Spicy”, “New Beginning”, “Diverse”, “Bad Traffic”, “Family”, “History”, “Rain”, “Pub”, “Vibrant”, “Inclusive”. These are just some of the words waxed by the people who came to the event. Good and bad, looking forward and back, a view on Birmingham as both a city and as a culture is formed.  

The greater meaning behind this collaborative art-piece is more than just its visual impact, but also the art techniques used to produce this art-piece that are adopted from a diverse South-East Asian heritage. By employing these diverse methods, the piece mirrors the diverse make-up of Birmingham. We look to the past to connect with our heritage, and we look to the future to build a better world for tomorrow, just as this city prides itself upon.

This artpiece is made using traditional Malaysian batik technique with wax and painted with Procion MX dye on 100% cotton fabric. 

• Dimension : 450 x 650mm mounted on 500 x 700mm black frame
• Date of original artwork creation : August 2023
• Care Instruction : Keep your artwork dry and avoid exposure to direct sunlight.
• All original work comes with a certificate of authenticity

This piece will be shipped framed.