(Filomena Reiss)

"Show your collection to others!" Sharmi pleaded a few months ago when she visited the stunning batik collection of her friend Heti Sunaryo.

The appeal was welcomed, and Heti's show rolled out recently. Sharmi organized the event, selecting the Selasar Sunaryo Art Space as the venue. The gallery and grounds house the art works of Sunaryo, a prominent Bandung sculptor and Heti's husband. On Dec. 2, 2008, the breathtaking collection of old Garutan batik was unveiled.

The regency of Garut is located in the southern part of West Java, a Sundanese highland town surrounded by volcanic mountains and extensive tea plantations.

The regency, averaging 700-750 meters about sea level, is blessed with a cool climate and lush vegetation. During the Dutch era it was a well-known Java hill station.

Heti invited relatives, friends and textile enthusiasts, including members of the Indonesian Heritage Society who drove to Bandung, to attend this special event.

Photographs of relatives dating back to the 1950s were also displayed on the walls making it a veritable family reunion: Many in the photos were milling around at the opening.

Materials used for making batik -- beeswax, natural dyes, brushes and canting -- were also displayed while women were set up and demonstrating the art of making batik.

The Garutan batik relies on a basic beige or ivory (gadingan) background and motifs in primarily blue and red presented in diagonal rows or lereng (hill) design. The motifs are influenced by Garut's lush environs and include flowers, birds, fruits and bamboo.

Heti Sunaryo is a beautician and well-known make-up artist for Sundanese weddings. She has two sons, a daughter and two grand-daughters. The family can boast several artists: her husband Mr. Sunaryo is a sculptor and painter, one son living in London is a painter, and her daughter is studying in the textiles department in the faculty of fine arts and design at the Institute of Technology Bandung.

Heti said she has been collecting batik since she got married 30 years ago, so now her collection numbers more than 300 batiks of different motifs and genres. But Garutan batik dominates her collection.

Sunaryo said before he married his wife he asked her to wear the traditional attire of Indonesia, the sarong.

Her favorite batik motif is Peperenian, which means to give excessive respect or meticulous attention to something, to the point of fetishizing it.

After admiring the batik collections and enjoying the old family photographs, the guests had an opportunity to buy batiks made by the artisans of Garut.

Soft Sundanese music played while everyone was shopping and chatting. Lunch was delicious traditional Sundanese cuisine.

After lunch, drumbeats signaled the start of the exciting part of the event. The emcee took the stage and started the fashion show.

Ian Suhadi, a Bandung fashion designer, had created a wide range of garments from Garutan batik.

The models -- young and old, even children -- modeled Ian's creations by mingling together in a role play, casually greeting each other, posing in tableaux. The audience ooh-ed and aah-ed in admiration.

A well-choreographed mask dance performance provided a brief intermezzo before the second half of the fashion show continued.

The show resumed with the same models now wearing Heti's batik collection, swishing and swirling for everyone to admire.

The finale was as well-orchestrated as all that had come before. Two elegantly dressed couples modeled the beautiful wedding costumes of the Sundanese.

The program ended with everyone participating in playing a set of angklung. These tuned bamboo shakers were distributed to the guests and we all played music with the help of a conductor who coordinated us all to play the right note at the right time. Everyone got to try out both Sundanese and Western music.

The exhibition was beautifully presented and the fashion show well-arranged making the day a great success. It was indeed a treat to be able to view these rare collections of Heti's batik collection.

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