Batik Sarawak

Along India Street I saw yards of Batik Sarawak material displayed in front of the shop, Fabriko. The flowing floral-like designs above are peculiar of one of the many ethnic groups in Sarawak called the Orang Ulu, comprising the Kelabits,Kayans, Kenyahs,etc. These designs are either printed or hand painted on silk, cotton or polyester.

Ethnic design on Sarawak pavement

This is a view of the designs on the pavement at the Kuching waterfront area. This is typical of native designs of Sarawak. A similar design is shown below which I took from a gallery of native designs at the Square Tower which I mentioned in my recent postings here.

The above design is drawn by the famous native designer named Tusau Padan ( 1930-1996) on bark cloth. Typical of such designs, the motifs are mainly floral, dragon-dog designs, lizards, birds or human figures. Anyway it is interesting to note that these designs have a certain harmony interwined in them. Though they seem asymmetrical at times but in the end appear balanced. Even on the pavement the designs seem to grow from spiral upon spiral, branch out of branch. In the end there are no missing links only a natural flow.