Vincent van Gogh’s The Starry Night has transcended from one art form to the other. It has inspired city batik enthusiast Kakali Das Kapas to dedicate an entire collection to the Dutch painter’s most popular creation. Kakali, who noticed an increased interest among youngsters in van Gogh and his paintings, thought about taking up the challenge of transforming the Dutch painter's artwork in batik, a year ago. "Van Gogh used the medium of painting while I work with the traditional art form of batik; they are very different in process and technique. However, I took the challenge and decided to meld the two together. Though a laborious task, I am glad it turned out to be good,” said Kakali who works from her unit, Swati, on Sambhunath Pandit Street in Bhowanipur.
Batik is a 200-year-old art form, predominantly practised in Java, Indonesia, Malaysia, Japan and India. Rabindranath Tagore introduced batik to Visva Bharati University, Santiniketan, and it has now become an essential form of expression in Bengali culture.
Swati has been experimenting with the patterns of batik for almost two decades now and started its journey with paintings of legendary artist Jamini Roy. It has been dedicated to working towards creating a change in the idea of batik and amalgamating contemporary styles with the traditional technique of batik, making it more appealing to the new generation. This collection takes Swati’s philosophy forward by emulating van Gogh’s The Starry Night with traditional dyeing techniques with great precision. Kakali has immaculately copied the painter’s signature strokes with molten wax on fabric and created stunning saris, stoles and dupattas for women. The fabric can also be picked to make shirts for men and women as well as other garments.
Pictures courtesy: Kakali Das Kapas
