3. ACICIS Internship / Residency: The kancil in the shadows …

The artists and thinkers coming here to Babaran Segaragunung Culture House (BSG) are diverse.  It’s a hive of activity with the weekly cultural study groups, the English language group, the interns, the artist who just turns up and the artists coming daily to make batik.  Such a privilege to get to know a little of so many of the artists here as part of my internship project and see some of their incredible work. With Desmond W. S. Anabrang, it’s a treat to work together on some studio photography of textiles; and how to get a good shot in daylight too. I’m also on the computer colour matching images to their textiles. You can see some of the textiles created for Baragung, the support system for BSG here: https://baragung.com/collections
 
I continue with my daily drawings.  And I am beginning to see how I am being influenced by this place, its people and stories.  My charcoal sketches metamorphose from their plein air stance to incorporating shadow play. Through experiencing the wayang kulit, shadow puppet show at the Sonobudoyo Museum; in thinking about the Javanese philosophies of connectedness of nature and culture; and from my zoo journey checking out the kancil, the Javanese mouse deer, kancil like shadows are appearing in the shadow plays of my sketches of the charismatic furniture of this place.  My first little shadow performance from a stool drawn here is captured in the image above.
 
Rambutan is being consumed in excess too.  It’s my favourite fruit of the moment, but more than that, their dried skins will be used to make a natural dye for the batik textiles here. I can’t wait to use the dye too, as a fluid ground for my sketches to come.