What began as a personal escape through drawing became a lifelong devotion. Puan Zarina Binti Salleh, founder of Batik Inderawasih in Kampung Ngulang, Berseri, Perlis, has been making batik since 1993 — armed with skill, patience, and an unshakeable belief in the value of what her hands could make.

Her foundation in visual art, built during her years as a student, lives in every line and motif she creates. Each pattern is deliberate. Each stroke carries memory and discipline — proof that heritage can be both expressive and enduring.

The studio at Batik Inderawasih breathes with shared knowledge. From academic training to workshop practice, the craft passes between hands — preserved through trust, kept alive through repetition. Visitors arrive not just to observe, but to slow down — to watch wax meet cloth, colour bloom through resistance, and time take on a different quality entirely.

This series documents the makers, the process, and the quiet persistence of a craft that refuses to disappear.

Photographed at Batik Inderawasih, Berseri, Perlis, Malaysia, by Syazni Aizat. (2024)