Rusydan Norr
Rusydan Norr is a visual artist whose interest extends across the various interrelations of humans and the natural world.
He is an alumnus of LASALLE College of the Arts.
Coming from a background of storytelling, alternative photography and working with found objects, the art of batik: how the canting was used and mastered in the Nusantara to draw delicate patterns, and its cultural significance – motifs which symbolise expressions or social purposes- are some facets that Norr would like to have a deeper understanding of.
Where his past works examine the roots of his matrilineal family, Norr intertwines the mediums that he has used with the batik making process and surface material used, to create narratives in this residency.
Crossing over from Cyanotype process in my last project I did about two years ago, I was curious and visualised how it would appear if it was intertwined with the Batik Lukis process. When I first joined this residency, I started with making small batik pieces on different fabrics to get a feel for it first.
The Batik Lukis process has a steep learning curve, for me – from holding the Canting correctly and drawing the wax without creating untidy lines or accidental blobs on the fabric. While also considering colour harmony when painting the dyes. Apart from the Batik Tulis technique, I spent some time in the studio trying out tie dye techniques and crackling effect by coating the fabric with wax completely.
As a substitute of fabric dyes, I applied Cyanotype and Solar-Fast - a similar medium that is light reactive/sensitive – on different parts of the fabric to see how the colours would appear after exposure and later use images printed on transparencies and plants to make prints/photograms on different fabrics as well.
Batik patterns are mostly not random and across the Nusantara, certain designs are meant for special occasions. As I was practising Batik Tulis, I was partly interested in looking up motifs that symbolise grief, such as the Slobog motif – triangle patterns in alternating sequences which originates from Yogyakarta.
Other patterns I had look into is the Sekar Jagad motif.
Images I have used in my prints on fabric so far are from my family’s pilgrimage to Mecca and Medinah, and the time when we went to Indonesia. Travel restrictions due to the pandemic was one reason I was looking through travel pictures.
The process of creating photograms with these light-reactive mediums, Cyanotype and Solar-Fast, requires sunlight, therefore it could only be done outdoors and during the day. As the skies are unpredictable, rain and clouds would hinder the development. To prevent this and accelerate the process, I built a UV exposure unit to be used indoors at any time of the day. Troubleshooting was done for the exposure time to find the optimal duration for developing prints, as a few were unsuccessfully developed at the start. I have managed to incorporate the Batik Lukis technique in some of my pieces I have made to resist the different colours of Solar-Fast dyes from mixing with each other. More to be developed and discovered.