Watching Fireworks batik artwork by London-based artist Kim Bennett. Inspired by watching fireworks with bursts of light and faces silhouetted against the night sky.
A5 size (8.3 x 11.7 inches / 14.85 x 21 cm). Each piece is a one-off - unique
Materials - thin black muslin cloth pieces, sizes from A4 to A5; bleach, hot wax (to protect areas where bleach isn't wanted, vinegar (to stop bleach reaction), black ink drawing pen.
Technique - use of bleach applied with small brushes, batik tjantings (normally used with wax applied before using bleach), reaction observed and stopped with vinegar where desired. I experimented with technique after making batik paintings - its analogous to using black paper with pastel chalk colours and putty rubber erasures to remove the colour. I had a quantity of black muslin cloth so started using bleach to remove the dye, and was pleased to see that the tones that developed were a beautiful range of terracotta browns and light ochres.
