At the heart of this Silk Rodeo we find a Javanese court official. Standing tall in a stately portrait of blended memories from his time along the Silk Roads. Collaged together from the annals of whitewashed content libraries that made his adventure hard to imagine…
Let’s say he was sent to wheel and deal and plead if he had to. Looking for better trades on his people’s commodities, which can’t support them in their double Dutch economy. But his Silk Rodeo isn’t all about them. He must find time for faith, of course — pre-planning his jaunts to Mecca, Al-Aqsa, Blue Mosqu and the Alhambra — wonders of the Islamic world lining his path toward those European crusaders who’ll determine his fate.
The 19th C. oil on paper of this Javanese court official is almost 2 metres tall. But it’s not a portrait. This Javanese ‘type’ was painted by an anonymous artist who isn’t believed to be Western. Helping to explain why, even though he’s archetypal, his humanity is on full display. Rendered by an artist who saw him as more than a subject. Which in turn helped me uncover a richly imagined life for this Javanese Cicero on a grand Silk Rodeo. Cutting a very fine figure in the newly globalised world of the Industrial Age. Which sparked the whole idea for this work, because the Javanese have been subject to foreign influence throughout their history, from the Indianised kingdoms of the past, the Islamic sultanates and the Dutch colonial period. Meaning many Javanese court officials would have been shipped out over the centuries to drum up support from faraway lands. Dressed here a la mode in Javanese finery paired with a sleek military jacket. Blending an admiral’s hat with the elegant flourish of a wrap-tied udeng. Turning fashion into a paradox — reflecting the push-pull dynamics between the colonised and the colonisers — a dance of Stockholm Syndrome co-dependence, sewn into sartorial elegance. And is it any wonder, then, that we find his face tangled? Stuck between grimace and bewilderment at the culture shock and awe of it all. En route and on repeat on this ever so grand Silk Rodeo.
