Zoom Link
https://muw.zoom.us/j/99008156381
Department
Art & Design
Format of Presentation
Oral Presentation
Research Category
Arts
Description
In this paper, I will discuss my research for the Souvenirs from Southeast Asia exhibition that I curated for The W Galleries in the 2026 spring semester. I was a student worker for the Galleries at the time, and I was the first person to do in-depth research on this material. We received this artwork in 2011 from alumna Betty Fikes Copeland, who had lived in Indonesia in the 1960s. This collection consists of batik fabrics, katazome prints, and Thai temple rubbings. My exhibition included a sampling of all three art forms.
Originating in Indonesia, batik is a fabric that binds communities. There are thousands of variations of patterns, all of which hold significant meaning in Indonesian culture. The Fikes Copeland collection includes a variety of these patterns, which I investigated in terms of the meaning of the colors and specific motifs.
Katazome, the Japanese art of stencil printing, is a centuries-old art form. Our collection includes illustrative prints done on special rice paper. I researched several different designs and practitioners of katazome. This section of my talk will summarize the history of this artwork and its present-day revival.
The final component of the exhibition was charcoal rubbings from a temple in Thailand. These rubbings, I argue, are from relief sculpture from a specific temple and depict events from the Ramakien, the national epic poem of Thailand. I will discuss the events of the Ramakien and its characters as seen in the rubbings.
Recommended Citation
Epps, Kaniya A., "Souvenirs from Southeast Asia" (2026). Undergraduate Research Conference. 1.
https://athenacommons.muw.edu/urc/2026/arts-and-humanities-oral-presentations/1
Souvenirs from Southeast Asia
In this paper, I will discuss my research for the Souvenirs from Southeast Asia exhibition that I curated for The W Galleries in the 2026 spring semester. I was a student worker for the Galleries at the time, and I was the first person to do in-depth research on this material. We received this artwork in 2011 from alumna Betty Fikes Copeland, who had lived in Indonesia in the 1960s. This collection consists of batik fabrics, katazome prints, and Thai temple rubbings. My exhibition included a sampling of all three art forms.
Originating in Indonesia, batik is a fabric that binds communities. There are thousands of variations of patterns, all of which hold significant meaning in Indonesian culture. The Fikes Copeland collection includes a variety of these patterns, which I investigated in terms of the meaning of the colors and specific motifs.
Katazome, the Japanese art of stencil printing, is a centuries-old art form. Our collection includes illustrative prints done on special rice paper. I researched several different designs and practitioners of katazome. This section of my talk will summarize the history of this artwork and its present-day revival.
The final component of the exhibition was charcoal rubbings from a temple in Thailand. These rubbings, I argue, are from relief sculpture from a specific temple and depict events from the Ramakien, the national epic poem of Thailand. I will discuss the events of the Ramakien and its characters as seen in the rubbings.
https://athenacommons.muw.edu/urc/2026/arts-and-humanities-oral-presentations/1