Widening the Trace, Weaving the World: Serantau, Weltanschauung, and the Discourse of Expanded Printmaking

by Ishak Ramli*

Department of Fine Art, Faculty of Art and Design

Universiti Teknologi MARA Perak Branch

Chapter 1: Regional Consciousness and Eastern Weltanschauung in Printmaking – Go Block

In the realm of contemporary Eastern art, regional practices are no longer viewed merely as geopolitical collaborations between neighbouring regions, but increasingly as a collective cultural discourse that binds shared historical roots, heritage values, and worldview (Weltanschauung). This awareness cultivates a current that resists strict cultural compartmentalisation and instead celebrates cross-cultural civilizational connectivity as the foundation for a dignified and resilient artistic development. This aligns with Dipesh Chakrabarty's (2000) proposition in Provincializing Europe, which advocates for the decolonisation of cultural discourse from Western frameworks by positioning local and regional narratives as central epistemologies.

 

In the Southeast Asian context, such regional practices manifest through the intersections of techniques, motifs, and artistic philosophies, evident in textile printmaking, woodblock techniques, and metal stamping. Techniques like batik and block printing that evolved across Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand reflect not only technological adaptation but also carry collective memory and aesthetic rituals that articulate humanity's connection to nature and spirituality. As T.K. Sabapathy (1996) notes, artistic interaction in the region is never linear but “layered and intertwined”, creating expressive spaces that transcend national boundaries and form a kind of cultural entanglement.

 

One of the most significant manifestations of this approach is the Go Block printmaking movement, which emerged as a form of expanded printmaking – an expansion of printmaking's conceptual and material boundaries. Beginning with its inaugural exhibition at Galeri Petronas in 2009, Go Block toured key national art spaces, such as Penang (2010), G13 Gallery, Cult Gallery and Puteh Gallery. It has become a creative phenomenon that rejects the conventional limitations of printmaking as a two-dimensional medium. In the spirit of the expanded field, as discussed by Rosalind Krauss (1979), Go Block offers a redefinition of printmaking not just in terms of technique, but also narrative, spatial presence, and socio-cultural relationships.

 

Within the framework of Go Block, the structure resembles a modular system of micro-blocks (a collective), each in dialogue with one another (local/international artists), embodying the idea of a decentralised print space, where each block contributes its distinct voice within a regional collective spirit. This reinforces the belief that art is not merely the product of individual genius but is a reflection of the wider regional zeitgeist. As argued by Syed Muhammad Naquib al-Attas (1980), Eastern art is not solely for the eye but for the soul – it is rich with moral value and pedagogical function. Art in the Eastern worldview is not merely aesthetic; it embodies wisdom (hikmah) and serves spiritual education. When practiced through the Go Block lens, printmaking evolves into a modular ecosystem, integrating micro-local strengths within macro networks. It grows from the bottom up, rooted in communities yet intellectually and aesthetically connected. Each "block" or region contributes a distinct print expression, grounded in shared cultural elements such as delicacy, mysticism, and discipline. Thus, Go Block is not just an artistic movement; it is a civilizational project – reconstructing regional narratives and offering alternatives to Western artistic domination.

 

In this Eastern Weltanschauung, art is not solely aesthetic expression but also encompasses spiritual, social, and moral dimensions, reflecting a holistic understanding of the relationship between humanity, nature, and the divine. This worldview – influenced by philosophies like Islam, Taoism, and Hinduism – upholds art as a spiritual vessel and educational medium. In Islam specifically, art is seen as a manifestation of tawhid; repetition in geometric patterns, symmetry, and refinement symbolise divine order and wisdom (Burckhardt, 1976; Nasr, 1987). Al-Attas (1980) asserts that true Eastern art instills adab – placing things in their proper place with harmony and insight.

 

Under this light, printmaking is not merely a technical process or image-making tool but a sacred ritual that binds humans to the transcendent. The acts of carving, composing blocks, selecting motifs, and repetitive printing are not mechanical acts, but spiritual experiences of patience, perseverance, and reverence. When applied to Go Block – an expanded printmaking movement – it becomes a model of art that is modular, liberated, and yet anchored in Eastern values of collectivity and soulfulness.

Though Go Block was formally introduced in 2009 at Galeri Petronas, it can be traced back to the Alternative Printmaking exhibition in 1995, and earlier still to Ponirin Amin's iconic work Alibi Catur di Pulau Bidong (1981), a print-installation that disrupted two-dimensional conventions and transformed print into historical and cultural testimony. As the movement developed nationally, Go Block exemplified a printmaking approach that elevated local strengths and enabled regional cross-dialogue. This vision aligns with Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o's (1986) call to decolonise the mind – reclaiming artistic and cultural agency through indigenous symbols, techniques, and epistemologies.

 

Thus, when regional printmaking is activated through Go Block's modular and open framework, rooted in Eastern Weltanschauung, it shapes an artistic ecosystem that is autonomous, dignified, and culturally embedded. This is not merely a visual or technical awakening, but a cultural movement animated by the Eastern spirit – collective, spiritual, and profoundly meaningful.

Chapter 2: Expanded Printmaking and Its Conscious Development

At the intersection of time and space, contemporary printmaking no longer stands merely as a technique, but as a way of thinking – a global language in constant expansion. What began as an act of imprinting – leaving a trace on a surface – now transcends that boundary, manifesting as spatial, ideological, political, historical, corporeal, and communal experience. This is what we now recognise as expanded printmaking.

 

If Rosalind Krauss, in 1979, opened the discourse on the expanded field through sculpture, then printmakers, too, have embraced and developed their own terrain. In Malaysia, expanded printmaking is not merely an imported idea but has grown from its own soil. In 1981, Ponirin Amin embodied this expansion through his iconic work Alibi Catur di Pulau Bidong – a print installation that disrupted the boundaries of two-dimensionality and turned print into a study of historical action and cultural testimony. In his writing for the Alternative Printmaking catalogue (Galeri Petronas, 1995), he introduced the term "creative printmaking," describing it as a conceptual and cross-technical exploration: "a form of visual thinking no longer limited to surface and material, but one that extends into space and narrative." He further stated:

 

"Printmaking is a constantly evolving artistic field, ready to adapt to cultural and technological changes. It is not merely about technique, but a means to voice ideas and emotions, to traverse time and space within local and global contexts." (Ponirin Amin, 1995)

 

In other words, although the term expanded printmaking was not literally used by Ponirin, the ideas he presented align with the very essence of expansion – where printmaking is no longer a fixed form, but a dynamic, living process that breathes with its context.

 

Globally, this discourse is carried forward by thinkers such as Paul Coldwell in his book Printmaking: A Contemporary Perspective (2010), who argues that printmaking no longer relies solely on surface or technique but has entered the realm of artist books, objects, space, and the digital world. Coldwell writes, “contemporary printmaking is now concerned not just with the traditional matrix but with its location, its dissemination, and its relation to other forms of practice” (Coldwell, 2010, p. 24).

 

Ruth Pelzer-Montada, in Perspectives on Contemporary Printmaking (2018), challenges the perception of printmaking as a static or subordinate art form. She asserts that “printmaking is now used as a platform for a variety of conceptual approaches, challenging the modernist understanding of print as purely technical or reproductive” (Pelzer-Montada, 2018, p. 14). This opens the way for printmaking as a medium of cross-cultural experimentation and ideological engagement – a critical terrain for the Serantau worldview.

 

Richard Noyce, in his publications Printmaking at the Edge (2006) and Critical Mass (2011), emphasises that truly contemporary printmaking is bold – rejecting the margins and conventions, and forging “new frontiers” through experimentation, hybridity, and social discourse. According to him, “the most engaging printmakers today are those who do not see the edge as a limitation but as a site of opportunity, where techniques can be merged and meanings multiplied” (Noyce, 2006, p. 8).

 

In the Asia-Pacific region, Marjorie Anne Kirker, in her PhD dissertation Printmaking as an Expanding Field in Contemporary Art Practice: A Case Study of Japan, Australia and Thailand (2009), calls for an inclusive mindset that resists Euro-American dominance in print discourse. Kirker examines how artists such as Noda Tetsuya and Shimada Yoshiko (Japan), Bea Maddock, Raymond Arnold, and Judy Watson (Australia), and Prawat Laucharoen and Phatyos Buddhacharoen (Thailand), shape print as installation, narrative, and ritual – not decorative objects. She writes, “printmaking’s strength lies in its ability to cross media and to question the boundaries of authorship, process, and objecthood” (Kirker, 2009, p. 131). In a statement deeply resonant with the Go Block – Serantau vision, she affirms: “intra-regionalism offers an alternative to the globalised art world by recognising local contexts and fostering cross-cultural collaborations rooted in shared geographies” (Kirker, 2009, p. 14).

 

In Printmaking in the Expanded Field (2015), curated by Jan Pettersson and presented in a seminar in Oslo, Norway, the discourse is pushed even further. Thinkers like Holger Koefoed, Susan Tallman, Theodor Barth, and Carlos Capelán examine how print becomes a cross-spatial medium – from public prints to “conceptual printmaking”. In his text, Koefoed writes:

 

“Printmaking is not just a method, but a cultural imprint of contemporary life. It exists between presence and memory, between politics and poetry.” (Koefoed in Pettersson, 2015, p. 11).

 

Meanwhile, Theodor Barth states:

 

“The expanded field of print is not simply an extension of media, but a transformation of the conditions of meaning and memory.” (Barth in Pettersson, 2015, p. 43).

 

What exhibitions such as Go Block – Serantau accomplish is the unification of all these streams of thought. They connect voices from Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines into a shared intellectual ecosystem – where printmaking is not only expanded in form but in meaning, position, and courage. Within this space, print becomes a social body. It is a walking installation. It is a resisting manifesto. It is a trace moving from hand to space, from space to meaning, from meaning to world.

Chapter 3: Conclusion

Go Block – Serantau holds a profound conviction: that printmaking is not merely a technique of image reproduction, but a way to reinterpret the world – from below, from the East, from voices once silenced by dominant histories and now re-emerging through small blocks bearing vast stories. These prints do not merely occupy space; they resound with collective memory, cultural symbolism, and spiritual vibration from a region long marginalised in global art discourses.

 

Now, these voices are printed in diverse forms – on paper, wood, metal, digital surfaces, and even in social spaces – and read in many languages: the language of local aesthetics, of historical awareness, and of values that uphold balance, adab, and soul.

 

Through the Go Block framework, a new model of regional printmaking may be envisioned – the Eastern-Oriented Regional Expanded Printmaking Model, a practical and philosophical framework founded on:

• Modular structures: building art from the micro-strengths of communities and local identities.

• Eastern Weltanschauung: grounded in holistic, spiritual, and refined worldviews.

• Cross-cultural regional exchange: facilitating dialogues in technique, motif, and narrative across Eastern and Nusantara geographies.

• Decolonised expressions: reclaiming traditional symbols and techniques as valid and dignified contemporary expressions.

• Creative ecology: emphasising continuity between humanity, nature, and artistic process.

This model not only promises heritage continuity, but also opens new grounds for collaboration, education, research, and art-making that is relevant to both temporal reality and spiritual grounding. Go Block is not merely an art movement – it is a roadmap, inviting us all to reprint the future of regional printmaking from small blocks full of meaning.

References

Al-Attas, S. M. N. (1980). The Concept of Education in Islam: A Framework for an Islamic Philosophy of Education. ISTAC.

Barth, T. (2015). The expanded field of print and transformation of meaning. Dalam J. Pettersson (Ed.), Printmaking in the Expanded Field (hlm. 41–47). Oslo National Academy of the Arts.

Burckhardt, Titus. (1976). Art of Islam: Language and Meaning. World of Islam Festival Publishing.

Chakrabarty, D. (2000). Provincializing Europe: Postcolonial Thought and Historical Difference. Princeton University Press.

Coldwell, P. (2010). Printmaking: A Contemporary Perspective. Black Dog Publishing.

Eero Saarinen. (2006). Shaping the Future. Yale University Press. ISBN 9780972488129.

Kirker, M. A. (2009). Printmaking as an Expanding Field in Contemporary Art Practice: A Case Study of Japan, Australia and Thailand (Tesis PhD, The University of New South Wales). https://unsworks.unsw.edu.au/entities/publication/e885db1e-d2a4-41e7-90b5-bce4f8ee1708

Koefoed, H. (2015). Printmaking and contemporary memory. Dalam J. Pettersson (Ed.), Printmaking in the Expanded Field (hlm. 9–13). Oslo National Academy of the Arts.

Nasr, Seyyed Hossein. (1987). Islamic Art and Spirituality. State University of New York Press.

Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o. (1986). Decolonising the Mind: The Politics of Language in African Literature. James Currey Ltd.

Noyce, R. (2006). Printmaking at the Edge: 40 Years of Innovation. A&C Black.

Noyce, R. (2011). Critical Mass: Printmaking Beyond the Edge. A&C Black.

Pelzer-Montada, R. (Ed.). (2018). Perspectives on Contemporary Printmaking: Critical Writing Since 1986. Manchester University Press.

Pettersson, J. (Ed.). (2015). Printmaking in the Expanded Field (katalog pameran dan seminar). Oslo National Academy of the Arts.

Ponirin Amin. (1995). Seni Cetak Kreatif. Dalam Alternative Printmaking (katalog pameran, hlm. 4–9). Galeri Petronas.

Sabapathy, T. K. (1996). Writing the Modern: Selected Texts on Art & Art History in Singapore, Malaysia & Southeast Asia. Singapore Art Museum.

*taken from the exhibition catalogue - GO BLOCK Serantau, exhibition runs from 26 May -15 June 2025, at The National Academy of Arts Culture & Heritage (ASWARA) , Kuala Lumpur