The machine is a simple XY plotter – a drawing machine that moves a pen between 2 axes reproducing a vector image supplied by the computer.
We hacked an existing plotter, substituting the drawing pen with a home-made electric Tjanting Tool. This allow us to draw any image we create in wax on cotton cloth.
Physical wax print molds are substituted with digital data, creating unlimited digital libraries of vector images. Each image can be modi ed up until the moment that it’s printed, and can be printed just once or in nitely.
After the textile has been printed with the wax the same steps of a traditional/industrial process are followed.
Digital tools are in constant development, therefore we can imagine their innovation potential if used in relation to a traditional technique like batik.
Collaborators:
Eugenia Morpurgo
Olivia de Gouveia
Amelia Desnoyers
TAC
Temporary Art Centre
Dutch Design Week 2013
Eindhoven, The Netherlands
Duration:
19 – 27 October 2013