Batik Textile

The use of these dyes has resulted in colours that have softened and faded over time, giving the textile a subdued, atmospheric quality.

The composition is deliberately restrained, with a largely empty central field framed by alpona-inspired designs at either end. The contrast between the open centre and the more densely patterned borders creates a sense of balance, while the end motifs provide the textile with a clear visual rhythm.

Its long, narrow format suggests that it may originally have been used as an uttariya, a cloth worn or draped over the upper body. The work is an example of Bani Biswas’s engagement with natural dyes and the possibilities of batik as both a textile technique and a mode of visual composition, in which the unadorned ground is as important to the design as the decorated ends.