I am back in Indonesia, rather, back in Jakarta. It's a short stay, it's not a holiday and I always seem to choose the perfect time (!) to come here as it is the beginning of the rainy season. Well, I could only manage this trip now, so...
I am tying up a few loose ends in connection with my book project for Bloomsbury and am also consolidating a new one which is still under wraps. All about fashion of course, Indonesian fashion but also global fashion, as the two are intertwined.
I have been interviewing key figures and doing archival work. To avoid the traffic I am staying at a wonderful Gallery, the Cemara Galeri -Museum, which doubles up as a guesthouse of sort. It's lovely to be there, right in the city centre, in a house that goes back to colonial times, owned by a famous Indonesian poet, Toety Herati. It's a landmark, as a friend commented and it has a different feel from the usual hotels and homestays.
It always takes me a while to get used to the change of time zone. I still find it difficult to sleep at night and getting up early is a big deal but I am managing.
As my round of interviews will take me to a different part of town next week, in a couple of days I will check out and move into a hotel in South Jakarta, once again to cut down on time spent in traffic jams - the bane of Jakarta.
My host and mentor here in Jakarta is the wonderful Ghea Panggabean, one of the senior most fashion designers in Indonesia. Through her I am learning a lot about fashion and textiles too, which are her passion and which she collects. I love the way she uses the traditional textile patterns and motifs in her work, which is modern in cut and which utilises high quality print rather than the traditional cloth. Being in her studio is quite an experience. I am using her personal archive of photos and magazines for my historical research but occasionally I double up as a fit model, as I did today. She is preparing her 'offering' to the forthcoming IPMI Trend Show - which I might or might not attend, it will depend on many factors. I tried an outfit on as her regular models were away - it was fun. I wish I could show some pictures but I need to wait until the show is over.
My book on contemporary Indonesian fashion has taken a few years to be completed, this is the final stretch, when the typescript is being checked and rechecked for errors and photographs are being selected to match the writing. Then I can send it off to the publisher and a new round of checks will begin. I cannot wait to see the finished product, I can only compare this to a pregnancy. And, like a pregnancy it will eventually be brought to term.
Not much else to discuss at the moment, I just wanted to record in my blog my presence here. London does feel very far away though the internet shrinks the distance. Yesterday I took some time off and did what people in Jakarta tend to do on a sunday. I went to the movies, and saw 'A star is born' which I really enjoyed.
Today I am back working in my small office.
I am back in London on 15th November.
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