Artist brings Indonesian style to Wirral

Jul 29 2009 by Matt Hurst, Birkenhead News

ARTIST Breda Whyte is bringing a technique first developed in Indonesia to New Brighton, via her native Ireland.

Breda arrived in the UK from her home in Dublin six years ago, and after a short stint in London settled on the peninsula.

She specialises in batik, an artistic style that delivers broad sweeps of colours and textures, using hot wax and dye to deliver multi-layered images on natural fabrics.

Breda told the News: “I like batik because it’s very fast, you have to work fast when using hot wax.

“I like the speed of it and you don’t have to wait forever for it to dry.

“The way the wax cracks can be completely random so there’s a touch of magic to it.

“You never know how it’ll turn out until you remove all the wax.”

The process works by stretching fabric – Breda uses undyed cotton – in a wooden frame and sketching a design.

Hot wax is then added to the areas where the artist doesn’t want any colour, and then dye is applied.

Once the first dye has dried, more hot wax is added to sections where the artist wants that colour retained, and the rest is re-dyed.

This process is continued, building layers of colour and shape, and using special tools such as a ‘tjanting’ to create broad or fine lines in the wax.

Once complete, the wax is ironed off between paper sheets.

The technique was traditionally practised on the Indonesian island of Java, but variations can now be found throughout the world.

Breda finds inspiration in unusual places and admits: “I’m obsessed with sunflowers and daffodils, so go back to them frequently. Much of what I’m working on at the moment is inspired by the music of Leonard Cohen.”

And one her most striking pieces is a portrait of 1950s Irish minister for health, Noel Brown, who resigned from government after his push to provide free milk for schoolchildren was denied.

Breda describes her style as “eclectic” and has exhibited in London, France and Ireland, with work currently on show at Green Dolphin Brasserie, New Brighton and Seagrass Studio in Hoylake.

Prices range from £80 to £600. For more, visit bredawhyte.homestead.com