Between the Threads: Batik as Character, Cosmos and Creation

Join featured artists from the museum’s Artisans Gallery, Agus Ismoyo and Nia Fliam, for a compelling presentation on their innovative approach to traditional Indonesian batik — the art of creating layered patterns with wax and dyes. In this talk, they will share their lifelong love of batik, reflect on how their work has been inspired by the ancient Javanese text Suluk Ambatik and highlight key pieces from their own artistic journey.

The talk will open with their son, Desmond Anabrang Fliam-Ismoyo, who will introduce a visual metaphor to help the audience navigate the layered world of batik. Using the image of a tree, he will outline interconnected realms that represent the visible styles and historical narratives of batik today. This framework invites the audience to look beyond batik as a finished product and instead experience it as a living process — one shaped by ecological rhythms, philosophical inquiry and spiritual intention. 

This program is presented as part of The Textile Museum’s centennial celebrations in 2025. 

About Agus Ismoyo and Nia Fliam  

Husband and wife team Agus Ismoyo and Nia Fliam have been producing textiles in their batik studio in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, since 1985. They draw on the traditions of Ismoyo’s ancestors — batik makers in the court city of Solo in Java — to explore the richness of historical batiks as contemporary art. Their studio produces fine-art batik fabrics and paintings along with a range of wearable art and interior decor.