Batikkende vrouwen op een erf 1912

Onnes Kurkdjian made this photograph of batik-making women, though we don’t know exactly when or where. But you can feel it, right? The light, the dust, the weight of the materials they used. I imagine Onnes framing this shot, trying to capture the atmosphere and the women's expressions as they carefully applied the wax. There’s such intention in their gestures. You can tell they have made so many of these textiles. Look how the batik is propped up. All these women together must have created such a sense of purpose and beauty.   Sometimes I look at a work like this and think about the whole history of making – people passing down skills and ways of life. It reminds me of the conversations I have with other artists. We're all working with what came before, finding our own way of saying something new, but also part of a continuous, evolving practice. And in the end, it’s not about fixing one meaning, but more about keeping the conversation open.