Pop-Up: David Bali Studio at Gauguin at SAM
SLIDESHOW: A look at the pieces you’ll find in David Bali Studio’s mini-shop inside SAM at the Gauguin exhibit.
A traditional kurtha, or Indonesian tunic. Mendoza loves getting men and women inside the traditional garb of island peoples. His work is all about crossing cultures. "When I show my batik to Indonesians they are surprised because it doesn’t look like traditional batik," he says. "And when people in America see my work they think it looks exotic; [they often] don’t know what batik really is. My goal has been to make contemporary batik that appeals to the modern taste of my customers but still uses the old traditional techniques for making it."
Spring scarves from the Indonesian islands have been popular among museum-goers.
Says Mendoza: "I go through periods of being in love with certain batiks we do and right now I am experimenting more with double-batiks—some are in the Seattle Art Museum shop. These take twice as long to make, basically making the batik twice, first with one stamp and color, then removing all the wax and stamping it again and dying with a different color and removing the wax. The final pattern is wonderfully complex and rich."
"Bali has been heavily impacted by tourism, as have other special places in the world. I know many people would like to come to Bali. It is a challenge for the Balinese to maintain their beautiful culture and life while moving into the contemporary world," says Mendoza. "I hope I have been able, just a bit, to encourage the Balinese to appreciate the great aspects of their traditions in terms of textiles and natural dyes and vice versa to help people in the USA understand that there are wonderful and beautiful things that are not mass produced in factories."
