Beryl & Bali

In the 1930's, artists, musicians and writers from the West flocked to the Island of Bali. Attracted by romantic visions of an untainted paradise, the Island of the Gods offered a bountiful landscape of inspriration. Ancient Hindu temples, spellbinding dances, tiered rice fields, colourful flora and buzzing markets with the fragrant aroma of insence, all set a sensual stage and tranquil space to; think, play and create.

Other visitors to the Island included the film producer and comedian Charlie Chaplin and several notible anthropologists including Margaret Mead came to study the islands inhabitants. During this period, Bali was an epicentre of research as well as a hedonistic playground for the rich and famous between the 1st and 2nd World Wars.

By the time Berly de Zoete arrived in Bali in 1934, project paradise was in full swing. Beryl had come to the island to study dance. She was fiercly independent and rejected the conformaties of marriage and other expectations bestowed onto women in the 1930's, which in turn gave her the freedom to travel, write and research. Mirian Ury, de Zoete's biographer described Beryl as, “Bohemian—with dyed black hair and rings on every finger,” quick witted and sharpe. [1]

This portrait of de Zoete, painted by Ray Strachey illustrates Beryl has having an androgenous appearence, proud and determined.

[2) Ray Strachey, oil on board, circa 1922-1926, NPG D258

© National Portrait Gallery, London

Beryl was an industrious dance critic, who was accustomed to travelling the world solo.. Her aim was to record the movements and gestures of predominantly Hindu dance forms, unique to each culture she analysed. As part of the Bloomsbury set of London, she was surrounded by a group of interlectuals comprising of; philosophers, writers and artists who lived and socialised in and around the area of the British Museum.

The letter below written by the author Virgian Woolf to Arthur Waley, two of Beryls associates is stamped with 'Museum', refering to the British Museum in blue ink. In the letter Woolf is congratulating Wayley on a recent article he had written, ' I think it is very interesting and gets a great deal said in a very simple way'. (Woolf, 1928). Wayley was the Assistant Keeper from 1913 - 1929 of Oriental Prints and Manuscripts at the British Museum.

[3] Virgina Woolf's letter to Arthur Wayley dated 11th January 1928, auctioned at Christies 8002, 2011

Arthur Waley became highly significant to Beryl, as they formed a life long partnership and encouraged each others research, both focusing on South East Asia . Beryl and Arthur exchanged written correspondence regularly as they prefered to travel separately, consumed by their own research agendas. Arthur who was a prominent sinologist studying Chinese and Japanese language and Literature, would regularly forward Beryl up to date publications regarding Anthropology. In the post card below Beryl is writing from Bali, informing Arthur who was skiing in Austria, 'it has been new year in Bali with wonderful dances', signed using one of her pet names, 'Tortoise'.

[4] Post card, stamped The Horniman Museum and Library - part of the Beryl de Zoete collection at the Horniman Museum and Gardens. The post card is featured in the book titled, 'Bali The Imaginary Museum' by Michael Hitchcock and Lucy Norris in the chapter 'Bloomsbury, Bali and Beryl'.

It was the photography of the 1930's which was the most pesuasive in shaping the Wests visions of Bali. Constructing and shaping Bali as a Western idle relied on reinforcing Western streotypes, this was a business of the Dutch colonisers who had popularised, photo - tourism.

Beryl herself recorded dances by using photography and film. As a trained dancer and choreographer she can been seen in the photograph below pointing at the Balinese dancer, as if to gesture; [I'm over here and you're over there, do as I say].

This pointed stance, represents the Wests impact on Bali and the Balinese, setting up daily life and Heritage as a performative spectical to be; cosumed, aesthetisied and played with. All of those who visited the Island of Bali for creative and research purposes were involved in layering what the Dutch colonisers had started, as Michel Picard refers to as a processs of 'Touristification' and 'Balinization' - constructing Bali as a LIVING MUSEUM.

Over 2,500, photographs taken by Bery De Zoete between 1934-36 in Bali now form part of the Horniman Museum and Gardens archive collection. Originally aquired by Dr Otto Samson a former curator at the Hormiman from 1947 - 1965, the archive also includes Balinese dance masks and films.

[5] Original black and white Photograph part of the Berly de Zoete collection archive at the Horniman Museum and Gardens

Beryl's visit to Bali had fostered another significant relationship in her life, which led to the production of one of the most seminal works on the subject of dance, still deemed as go to text today, 'Dance and Drama in Bali' co -authored by Walter Spies. Spies was a German ex-pat who had been a long term resident on the island prior to meeting Beryl during her first visit in 1934.

[6] Dance and Drama in Bali by Walter Spies and Beryl de Zoete published 1938

By the early 1900's Bali had started to develop a reputation as Indonesias most alluring tourist destination. Promoted by the Dutch colonizers who saw the island as their exotic geographical hoard, full of opportunities to exploit and profit from. Balinese people were often objectified to advertise their Island, specifically women who were filmed bare-chested busily attending to their domestic duties, carrying high towers of fruits and flowers on their heads to the temples through lushious argricultural landscapes.

This film clip titled 'Bali Paradise Isle' Dutch East Indies Historical Travelogue was produced by Castle Films in the film 1930s. It illustrates how Bali was showcased and presented to the rest of the world during this period.

[7] Periscope Film LLC archive

It is at this point where the Western visitors of the 1930's peaked in their patronizing dominance of crediting themselves at the centre of a new Modern Balinese Art and culture. In the book, 'Bali A Paradise Created', Adrian Vickers discusses how Spies had perpetuated the idea that 'everybody in Bali seems to be an artists', due to his romantic vision of how music, art, dance are all linked. The Balinese did not separate or have individual words to catagoraise art as those used in the West.. The West assumed that Balinese Art needed a helping hand to emerge as a Modern art form, to develop and protect itself 'instead, they meant that change should occur according to the tastes of the western preservers' (Vickers). In short, they were imperialists taking over and marginalising the Balinese from their own heritage with the idea that they were supporting by creating a modern progressive art scene.

Vickers is acutely aware of the connection between the imagined Bali by the West impressed into the island and for his book 'Bali a Paradise Created' Vickers uses an iconic 1930's travel poster issued by the Dutch Administration 'Travellers Official Information Bureau of the Netherlands' as the books front cover.

[8] Adrian Vickers, Bali A Paradise Created

It is here where the impact of the Western visitors and their research and creative agendas INTERSECT with creating the imagined Bali which was visually circulated around the world in the form of travel posters, adverts, films and photography. As a result a disney land, a hyper-reality of Bali emerged, through the boom in tourist developments.

Today, the impact of the Wests Balinization campaign has adversly effected the environment, evidenced by the high levels of plastic polution in its rivers, beaches and waterways. Landcapes are also at risk from mega developments due to the building of hotel complexes and golf courses. Balinese families whose heritage is linked to their village have been uprooted, cleared and forcibly removed to make way for the projects without regard for their wellbeing and livelihoods.

The cultural landscape of Bali has been scarred by cultural tourism which is now firmly entangled into everyday life, as many families are dependent on tourism for employment and their economic survival.

'To sustain the living landscape ways will need to be found to provide more support to support the traditional systems and to provide benefits that will allow farmers to stay on the land.' (UNESCO) [9]

A call to action, to readdress this has been activated. by Artists and Acitivists or Artivists as they also refered to, the following POD cast titled 'Talking Indonesia podcast', Dr Dirk Tomsa disucsses Environmental Activism and Art with Dr Edwin Jurriens. [10]

Balinese and Indonesian artists are now at the forefront of reclaming and taking action to creature sustainable futures.

References

[1] Ury, M. (1986) https://jrul.libraries.rutgers.edu/index.php/jrul/article/viewFile/1655/3095

[2] Ray Strachey © National Portrait Gallery, Londonhttps://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person/mp50641/beryl-de-zoete[3]

[3] Virgina Woolf's letter to Arthur Wayley, Bloomsbury Group Letters https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-5495271

[4] Post card, stamped The Horniman Museum and Library

[5] Original Photograph (without the organge graphic) archive collection at the Horniman Museum and Gardens

[6] Spies, W. and De Zoete, B.,2002. Dance and Drama in Bali. Hong Kong: Periplus.

[7] Dutch East Indies Travel logue Periscope Film LLC archive https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqZnBGsnlq4

[8] Vickers, A. 2012, Bali. Tokyo: Tuttle Publishing

[9] Decision : 36 COM 8B.26 Cultural Properties - Cultural Landscape of Bali Province: the Subak System as a Manifestation of the Tri Hita Karana Philosophy (Indonesia)

UNESCO Protection and Management Requirements https://whc.unesco.org/en/decisions/4797/

[10] Dr Edwin Jurriens Environmental Activism and Art in Bali https://soundcloud.com/talking-indonesia/dr-edwin-jurriens-environmental-activism-and-art