INTERLOCKING - INTERWOVEN
FLORAL MEANDER textile
The floral design on this skirt cloth is influenced by Malay culture, which uses fragrantly perfumed flowers in rites of passage such as bride purification. The meandering botanical is a jufri motif, which is popular in the South Sumatran city of Palembang. The scalloped edging pattern was created in North Java.
The marbling effect created on the background affords a rich visual texture as though all the botanical elements – the creeping tendrils and delicate leaves – are interconnected.
Sarong – tubular skirt, batik tulis (cotton), north coast of Java and probably Palembang or Jambi, South Sumatra
Kindly lent by Kadar and Anton Lucas
FLORAL MEANDER soundtrack
Interlocking patterns are encountered throughout Indonesian music. An ancient example from the Central Javanese gamelan orchestra is called imbal. This is played on a pair of bonang sets: gong chimes suspended on cords over wooden racks.
Each musician strikes a two note-motif that is woven into the two notes played by the other. This forms a run of four ascending or descending pitches. At the end of an imbal sequence, they move into sekaran (blossoms), which are flourishing patterns leading up to special emphasised notes called sèlèh.
In this soundtrack, musicians Muchlas and Bayu play sekaran for the melody of a piece called ‘Asmaradana’, which means ‘the fire of love’.
Imbal and sekaran motifs for ‘Gending Ladrang Asmaradana’, Slendro Manyura
Instrumentation: bonang barung and bonang panerus – bronze gong chimes, slendro
Musicians: Muchlas Hidayat and Bayu Ariwibowo
