Batik fabric exhibition opens at UWI Regional Headquarters

ON MONDAY, August 28, at 5 p.m., ‘From Adirè to Jadirè – A Transition of Textile Culture from Southwest Nigeria to Jamaica’ unfolds at The University of the West Indies Regional Headquarters along Mona Road in St Andrew, as a variety of Jadire (batik fabrics) will be on display in Alao Omotayo Luqman’s solo exhibition.

Alao (Surnames come before christian names in Nigeria) is a multi-skilled Nigerian cultural diplomat who has been training Jamaicans in many creative endeavours for over five years. Jadire (Jamaican adirè) was derived from combining Jamaica with the Yoruba word, adirè, meaning tie-and-dye textile. It was originally an indigo-dyed cloth made mainly in southwest Nigeria by Yoruba women, using a variety of resist-dyeing techniques.

Among these techniques are adirèalabela (candle wax), adirèeleko (starch resist), adirèoniko (tie- and-dye), adirèalabere (stitching method) and adirèonipatan (batik or silk painting). Resist-dyeing involves creating patterns, either by stamp or freehandedly. These were the methods that were transferred to Jamaica through bilateral relations with Nigeria through the Nigerian government. The objective was to create a tie-dye/batik cottage industry in Jamaica, Alao shared.

He said that in Africa, cloths represent cultural identity, and they are viewed as the products of technology, cultural symbolism, works of art, or as items of trade. The adirè textile industry played a significant cultural role in the development of Nigeria’s textile industry, through printed motifs, patterns and stories.

“The impact and influence of Nigeria on the Jamaican experience, as well as the importance of the use of Jadirè in sustaining or expressing the cultural identity of a people, will further enhance Jamaica’s cultural expression on the global stage,” Alao said, “Perhaps more than any art form, textile reflects the culture from which one comes, and adirè/Jadirè textile are viable means by which the rich Jamaican cultural heritage and ideas may be conveyed to other cultures of the world, just as the Yoruba of Nigeria did with tie-dye/batik textiles prints (adirè).”

Thus, Alao, who is a Yoruba man himself, has been training Jamaicans to make a cultural connection with the fabrics. Motifs representing aspects of Jamaica’s history and heritage are integral parts of the designs of the fabrics of some of his students. The fabrics to be showcased were all printed in Jamaica by the man himself. There was a previous show that highlighted what his former students had produced. And, at the Christmas in July event last month, some of his former students were present to display and sell Jadirè fabrics.

The upcoming show, then, is to indicate to Jamaicans the extent to which they can create beautiful and eye-catching printed fabrics that are not only wearable, they are emblematic. Narratives can be embedded within them, and what better way to tell your story and display your cultural motifs.

The show, which also pays homage to Jamaica’s 61st year of Independence, runs until September 16. It is supported by the Directorate of Technical Aid Corps at the Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Nigerian High Commission in Jamaica, the Jamaica Business Development Corporation, and FEVA TV.