Artists: Ryan Davis, Sara Vanderbeek, Noel Kalmus, Steef Crombach, Drew Liverman, Erin Curtis, Manik Raj Nakra, Paul de Jong, and Floor van het Nederend. 

For EXPEDITION BATIKBACK curator and artist Steef Crombach offered six artists from Austin and two artists from The Netherlands the opportunity to learn the process and create works in the traditional Indonesian technique known as Batik. This fully saturated fabric dyeing process allows the artist's compositions to become three-dimensional objects, viewable from front and back. When suspended from the ceiling in the gallery they create a structure for visitors to navigate. After their exhibition at DEMO Gallery the works will travel with Steef back to Holland to be shown there.

The artists selected to participate in the workshop and exhibition all incorporate strong color palettes, use of bold linework, and patterning into their paintings. These painterly qualities transfer well to Batik and each of the artists brings their individual style to the medium. Untraditional themes, pop-elements, patterns, and colors contrast with the traditional use of Batik and the unique way the works are shown shed new light on the technique. 

“Ours was not going to be a clone of the usual expeditions, oozing with sleekness. It was clear from the start that oddity was our advantage.”
― Tahir Shah, House of the Tiger King: The Quest for a Lost City