Making a splash

Icarus and his father, Daedalus, learnt how to fly with wings made of feathers and wax, but Icarus flew too close to the sun and melted the wax. Here, he crashes into the sea as the world goes on around him.

Ploughing ahead

Bruegel's design puts an ordinary farmer in the foreground, leaving the 'epic' myth of Icarus to happen in the background. Life goes on, and the indifference is both funny and tragic.

Sail away

Bruegel foregrounds ordinary life, and relegates these grand ships to the background, in a technique known as 'Mannerist inversion'

Sheeping around

Several sheep can be seen wandering around the coastal edge. Do you think any of them fell into the water like Icarus?

What is batik?

Batik comes from the word 'amba' and 'tik' meaning drawing using dots. These dots were made using a 'canting' and melted wax.

Timeless batik

As a craft praised and loved worldwide, Indonesian batik has been designated by UNESCO as a masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.

Two styles meet

This batik style has two different motifs which meets diagonally in the middle. The two sides contrast with different patterns and colors.

Darker and lighter

The two sides of the batik motifs contrast with lighter and darker colors. When worn, the lighter side would be used in the mourning to wrap around the waist and the darker side would be used in afternoon.