However, the effects of colonisation go deeper than the physical aspects. It also shapes the intangibles, such as locals’ mentalities towards their native culture. Traditional techniques practised by various communities in the region are often relegated to “craft” rather than “luxury”, diminishing the value they contribute to fashion products, thus creating a glass ceiling that impedes the growth of Indonesian design in the regional and global fashion industries.
RECLAIMING AND SPECULATING EAST JAVANESE ART /
RECLAIMING AND SPECULATING EAST JAVANESE ART /
RECLAIMING AND SPECULATING EAST JAVANESE ART /
RECLAIMING AND SPECULATING EAST JAVANESE ART /
RECLAIMING AND SPECULATING EAST JAVANESE ART /
We invite the viewer to imagine if
the island were never
colonised and how this would
subsequently influence the
fashion system at local and
global levels.
Indonesia is an archipelago made up of a diverse range of cultures and ethnicities as the islands spread across the Pacific Ocean. Indonesia was colonised for more than three centuries by Portugal, France, England, Netherlands, and Japan. In the colonisation process, there was an acculturation process through motifs, ornaments, and decorative regions.
This project speculates the outcomes of combining historical heritage with modern technological interventions through a design lens, to create an interactive and engaging digital experience.
This project speculates the outcomes of combining historical heritage with modern technological interventions through a design lens, to create an interactive and engaging digital experience.
A key finding from our primary research was that if East Java or Indonesia were never colonised, there is a high possibility that “Bangsa Indonesia”, or the nation of Indonesia would not even exist.
This was pointed out during our interview with Mastuti. This brought people together with the common goal to rise against it. Without colonisation, the Indonesia we are familiar with today could instead be known as separate, independent countries, divided along ethnic, linguistic, or religious lines, each with a more advanced version of their dress and material culture. This line of thinking explains our outcomes of combining historical heritage with modern technological interventions through a design lens.
