Can life’s biggest questions be asked through fabric? A new Javanese textile, Galih Podo, acquired by the Denver Art Museum in January does this elegantly by using exquisite textile art techniques and combining a variety of traditions and beliefs. Indonesia (where the island of Java is located) is the world’s largest majority-Muslim country and is known for its long history of religious conversions and accommodation. DAM visitors can see this new acquisition in the exhibition Weaving a Foundation: Cornerstones of the Textile Arts Collection, now on view (included with general admission, which is free for members).
Galih Podo is a natural dye batik kain (which means “long traditional cloth” in Indonesian) made by the Indonesian batik artist Sapuan. Based in Tunjungsari, a small village on the northern coast of Java, Indonesia, Sapuan combines his family’s multi-generational interest in batik with his training in the natural sciences to express his own fascination with the existential dilemmas of being human. A middle-school biology teacher by day, and a batik artist on the weekends, Sapuan uses the medium of batik, a wax-resist dying technique unique to Indonesia and popular around the world, to create grand tableaus of the human experience, mythic struggle, and even climate change. Unlike most batik, which is meant to be worn and wrapped around the waist (for men and women), Sapuan’s sweeping representational style is intended to be displayed hung on a wall for close reading and meditation. He is regarded as one of the most accomplished living batik artists.
Sapuan (Indonesian, born 1962), Galih Podo (Alam Batin), 2022. Cotton with wax-resist dyeing (batik); 50 x 106 in. Denver Art Museum: Textile Arts and Fashion acquisition funds, 2024.3. © Sapuan
Sapuan (Indonesian, born 1962), Galih Podo (Alam Batin) (detail of left panel), 2022. Cotton with wax-resist dyeing (batik); 50 x 106 in. Denver Art Museum: Textile Arts and Fashion acquisition funds, 2024.3. © Sapuan
Sapuan (Indonesian, born 1962), Galih Podo (Alam Batin) (detail of central panel), 2022. Cotton with wax-resist dyeing (batik); 50 x 106 in. Denver Art Museum: Textile Arts and Fashion acquisition funds, 2024.3. © Sapuan
Sapuan (Indonesian, born 1962), Galih Podo (Alam Batin) (detail of right panel), 2022. Cotton with wax-resist dyeing (batik); 50 x 106 in. Denver Art Museum: Textile Arts and Fashion acquisition funds, 2024.3. © Sapuan
Requiring over two years to complete (2020-22), Galih Podo was created by applying layers of liquid wax by hand, through small brass vessels called canting, and then dying the fabric in phases. Galih Podo is a remarkable illustration of hand-made batik in a world of increasingly mass-produced textiles. Visitors will be able to see Galih Podo’s precise, miniscule dots depicting complex forms such as flowers, mythical animals, and sacred symbols in pointillist technique, each of which were created by application of liquid wax that was later removed so that the same spot could then receive or resist dye.
The title refers to the complex worlds of human existence. In Javanese, galih means “inner” and podo means “nature.” Three dense panels depict aspects of the universal human struggle for survival alongside the quest for inner peace. Framing these three central panels are left and right borders, common to most traditional textiles in Southeast Asia, called tumpal. Tumpals allows the artist or weaver to set the lines for the textile and are potentially visible on the outer drape when worn on the body. In this piece the tumpals include representations of bodily components, such as feet, ears, and hands, that facilitate human connection to the outer world. Taken together, the three panels present a philosophical story about the virtues of moderation and of balancing ambition with peace.
Left panel
The large left panel depicts classically Javanese images of human desire for wealth, beauty, sexuality, and power. Wealth is depicted by a golden chariot (associated with Dutch-era colonial influence on Javanese noble style), while beauty is recognizable by Hindu symbols of masculinity and femininity, and sexuality is through the attraction of butterflies to flowers, depicted in a style synonymous with Chinese-influenced batik from the northern coast of Java. The top two sections convey a throne and the allure of abundant rice harvests, displayed in the bountiful presentational style associated with rites of passage such as weddings.
Central panel
The central panel depicts mythic struggles that lead humans to pursue reason and culture. The process of this struggle is conveyed through the symbol of a tree, with roots reaching deep into soil and branches that expand to include human consciousness, dreams, and synthesis. Much as trees produce blossoms, leaves, and fruit—all of which eventually leave the tree—so too do societies become the product of their components, including the natural world, human beings, and the human capacity to analyze and change. The figures in this panel are familiar from Hindu-Buddhist epic myths narrated in classical sung poetry and the shadow plays of Java and Bali. For example, the demon character Ravana, from the Hindu epic Ramayana, is depicted by a tiger on the second layer, representing fire in the natural world, and determination and anger in the human form. Above the tiger is a flying swan, depicting air in the natural world, and empathy and devotion in the human form. These qualities allow humans to connect empathically with fellow humans and with the divine.
Right panel
The final panel on the right is composed of three sections in an inverted triangle form (tripurusha, or “three essences”), framed by creatures also sacred to the region. The bottom star refers to individual human consciousness. The middle symbol is of the moon, which itself reflects the sun’s light and therefore conveys constant, universal radiance. The top symbol is of the consciousness that transcends all creatures, movement, and power. For humans, this illustrates the capacity to embody understanding across religions and forms of life. Although Sapuan describes these symbols as universal, they are aesthetically rooted in multiple religious fields, including Buddhist dharma, Christianity, and forms of Sufi spiritual unity practiced by Muslims. The flanking dragon and phoenix also support these forms of light and life: the dragon as an image of justice and the phoenix as a symbol of compassion. Both have roots in Chinese mythology.
Sapuan’s vision in this piece draws heavily on the diverse array of religious and indigenous philosophies of Java yet is also an exceptional expression of his own creativity, artistic skill, and reflection. He is thrilled that museum visitors will now be able to enjoy the textile and sacred traditions of Java, and perhaps also find their own peace through integrating these insights with parallel features from their lives and their communities.
