Video 1 shows the careful and affectionate treatment and way of handling barkcloth costumes by the people who work with the collection at the Weltmuseum in Vienna.
Video 2 is a documentary about the production of barkcloth at Lembah Bada in Sulawesi and its specific meaning. Elders also share their memories about the colonial past and how the Dutch priests tried attract the local inhabitants by hanging pieces of colorful textiles in outdoor spaces as a way to attempt to get them to covert to Christianity and enter the colonial system.
One of the elderly women told me about her mother who produced barkcloth instead of going to school and adhering to colonial rules. Barkcloth production became a form of resistance aimed at holding onto local traditions and beliefs.
Video 3 shows two models wearing my costumes and standing close to the Balindo sculpture. At the sites of these ancient sculptures, ceramic urns have been unearthed which contain stone beaters used to produce barkcloth. This proves that at least during the last 4000 years people were wearing barkcloth.
Links to Project: