MIB – Men in Batik
Dressing men in the Nusantara

What does the batik shirt mean for the men who wear them? Is it merely a solution for working men in the oppressive tropical heat? When did our men realise this single-layered, tieless shirt could also project a serious and smart image? What are the different social and political nuances of batik-shirt wearing 70 years after men in the Nusantara first wore them for work and play?

Lee Chor Lin explores the origins of the batik shirt and its development from a post-colonial and tradition-subversive sartorial move to its ascendancy on the global stage. World leaders now appear in batik splendour at international summits to discuss world peace, multilateral relations, and public health. Chor Lin will also discuss how reactions to batik shirts are individual, as some love them and others hate them so.

Speaker

Lee Chor Lin, art historian and museum consultant, is curator of the exhibition Batik Kita: Dressing in Port Cities. She began her museum career in 1985 as a curator at the National Museum. She was senior curator at the Asian Civilisations Museum between 1993 and 2002, and director of the National Museum of Singapore between 2003 and 2013, during which she transformed the museum, influencing greatly the museum scene in Singapore. Lee was CEO of Arts House Limited (2013–16), which she set up for the National Arts Council, and which ran the Singapore International Festival of Arts. She was conferred Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by France in 2009 and Cavaliere, Ordine della Stella d’Italia, by Italy in 2012.

Moderator

Noorashikin binte Zulkifli is senior curator for Islamic art at ACM. She developed the current Islamic Art Gallery as part of ACM’s revamp and curated the exhibition Ilm: Science and Imagination in the Islamic World (2016). Noora is currently working on the revamp of the Peranakan Museum, with a special interest in Muslim Peranakan communities. Before this, she was a curator at the Malay Heritage Centre in Kampong Gelam, Singapore’s historic Muslim quarter and port town. She holds an MA in Interactive Media and Critical Theory from Goldsmiths College. Noora’s research interests revolve around Islamic Southeast Asia with a leaning towards manuscripts and their related arts.

_{Image: Detail from a batik Belanda (Dutch batik) inspired by images seen in European fairy tales and magazines. "Slamet Pake" is urban slang of "Selamat Pakai", meaning "enjoy wearing". Kain panjang (detail). Central Java, Pekalongan, 1920s. Batik tulis. Cotton, synthetic dyes. ACM, T-0811.}

_{Lee Chor Lin: Photo by Tara Sosrowardoyo}

Organised in conjunction with the exhibition