Exhibition Entitled Maracosa, Collaboration Of Miss Rara Batik And Papermoon Puppet Theater Held At Omah Budoyo Yogyakarta

Illustration of the exhibition titled Maracosa (Source: Doc. Special)

YOGYAKARTA – Batik and weaving are traditional fabrics whose dimensions and motifs are full of meaning. Not to mention the ingredients, selected from quality produce and processed with qualified techniques. The values and meanings in batik and weaving wastra are highlighted in the exhibition entitled Maracosa.

The word Maracosa, which marks the collaboration event between Miss Rara Batik and the Papermoon Puppet Theater held in Omah Budoyo from April 11 to June 10, 2022, comes from the Sanskrit word meaning "see for yourself". This collaboration exhibits photographic works, from Rangga Yudhistira, Muhammad Alhaq's etchings and Ing Printmaking. The dolls made from classic batik motifs are made by Anton Fajri, Pambo Priyojati, Beni Sanjaya, Hardiansyah Yoga, Retno Intiani, and Maria Tri Sulistyani. The music that accompanies throughout this exhibition is from Yennu Ariendra.

The work on display is based on Miss Rara Batik, who will celebrate her 10th year. A decade has passed, this batik brand aspires to create batik stories that are able to help maintain the existence of batik as relevant for the younger generation. Papermoon Puppet welcomed the creation of Maracosa.

Illustration of the exhibition titled Maracosa (Instagram/Omahbudoyo_official)

As a collaborator, Papermoon Puppet Theatre, explores batik cloth materials into character dolls. This exhibition is an event that has been held face-to-face since the COVID-19 pandemic hit.

“Before Maracosa's work, Papermoonn responded to rattan, paper, and wood as doll materials. Now from the batik cloth of Miss Rara Batik. The experience is interesting and challenging. We translate fauna batik motifs into dolls. The method of manufacture is also different. Those who used to work with saws are now sewing with needles,” explained Maria Tri Sulistyani as Co. Artistic Director at Papermoon Puppet Theatre.

For Papermoon Puppet, Maracosa is a work dedicated to the intertwining of traditional arts in people's lives from generation to generation, stretching, surviving, developing, or even disappearing in various ways.

Illustration of the exhibition titled Maracosa (Instagram/Omahbudoyo_official)

The movement of cultural preservation through the Maracosa exhibition was held at the Omah Budoyo art gallery located at Jalan Karangkajen MGIII/793 Mergangsan, Yogyakarta. This gallery is committed to preserving and offering new meanings/values in the cultural heritage of the archipelago. Not only holding exhibitions, Omah Budoyo also offers cultural experiences through regular activities in the form of batik, gamelan, macapat, and ceramic workshops.

Interested in tasting the cultural experience of this archipelago? In a series of exhibitions titled Maracosa, you can attend screenings of cinematic performances from the Papermoon Puppet Theater on 7 and 21 May 2022 and puppet making and body movement workshops on 14 and 28 May 2022.