An Indonesian language teacher and her daughter are teaching the Indonesian art of batik in Taiwan. Batik is a textile art that uses wax-resist dyeing to create vibrant, often deeply personal and symbolic designs. The art originated in Java, and is now popular worldwide. Kuan Meilian teaches her students how to make their own batik cloth. And her daughter Liu Yu-chen is an accomplished artist whose batik clothing designs have won many awards.
If you’re not familiar with Indonesian batik art, welcome to the class!
Kuan Mei-lian
Batik artist and teacher
Only people like kings or those in the imperial court could get the opportunity to wear batik. Ordinary people like us wouldn’t wear things like this.
Indonesian-born Kuan Mei-lian says that when she first came to Taiwan, she was surprised how many people didn’t realize that batik is the national costume of Indonesia. She and her daughter made a special trip to the island of Java to learn batik from the masters. They’ve now been promoting batik art in Taiwan for four years.
Kuan Mei-lian
Batik artist and teacher
It’s a bit harder to do batik in Taiwan, because our climate is different – it’s too hot. The wax congeals, so it’s something I’ve gradually worked out how to do.
It takes real skill to apply wax to the cotton cloth. The temperature of the wax is crucial. Kuan’s daughter has come to assist today’s class and help students through the process. When these cloths have been dyed and the wax removed, their first test patches are complete.
Yang Kai
Dong Xing Junior High School student
Actually, when we started I thought it was ugly. But when we took the wax off, I thought it looked nice. I think it’s fun. You’re not repeating the same thing again and again through the whole class.
This is a junior high Indonesian language class. Kuan teaches language and the distinctive artistry of Indonesia through batik, a veritable ambassador for cultural exchange.
Kuan Mei-lian
Batik artist and teacher
The totemic symbols of batik express a journal of daily life for the tribe. So we’re in Taiwan, what do we see here? We can record all of it on our batik, write it out on the batik like in a journal.
Kuan’s daughter Liu Yu-chen has also fallen in love with batik. She entered a contest with the design of these mother and daughter outfits, and in 2021 they won the “Journey of Dreams” prize from the National Immigration Agency.
Liu Yu-chen
Daughter of Kuan Mei-lian
I’m proud that my mom is an Indonesian language teacher. Firstly she can speak Indonesian and secondly she can teach. When I tell people I feel quite proud. Keep it up, mom!
Liu wants to start a batik accessory brand, and, following in the footsteps of her mother, continue to spread the elegance and creativity of Indonesian culture in Taiwan.
This story was provided by the program "We Are Family"
Funded by New Immigrant Development Fund
