The Craft Diaries - Waxing Lyrical

Waxing lyrical

We drove south to the coast to visit the wax block-printer in a walled port town of Mundra, reminiscent of a Moroccan village.

Batik was originally imported from Indonesia to this port and was later adopted by the locals who embraced wax block-printing as it flourished in the 1960s. However, this technique is under threat as it is cheaper to replicate in screen or digital and easier to mass produce.

They are also limited to natural dyes for export and a few azo free dyes, which often lose their vibrancy after being placed in hot water to remove the wax.

Walking into their workshop was like being catapulted back hundreds of years. Four men sat with wax filled cylinders beside them printing onto sand tables surrounded by hundreds of blocks rammed into every crevice.

 It was a truly magical moment to witness the art of six generations continuing in front of me. Time stood still.