KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 6 — For visual artist Arif Rafhan Othman, batik is not merely a play of colours on canvas or a decorative craft. Instead, it is a ‘small world’ that reveals a thousand stories through the diverse motifs intricately woven into each of his artworks.

For the 48-year-old artist, every motif he sketches is never random; each one is carefully selected to allow anyone viewing his work to explore multiple layers of meaning – from historical narratives and local cultures to the lived experiences of the communities he highlights through his art.

Better known by his artistic name Superdoofus, Arif Rafhan has become synonymous with works that reflect unity and cultural diversity in Malaysia, with motifs chosen to represent the identities of the country’s various ethnic groups.

Met during the 2025 Malaysia Batik Day celebration here recently, the Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Bachelor of Science (Hons) Information Technology graduate showed Bernama how a single piece of his batik artwork could encapsulate the Malaysian identity.

“For this piece, there is a map illustrated using different motifs for each state... for example, the fan represents the Chinese community, houses of worship and so on. But the protagonist (main element) is the cempaka flower.

“The cempaka flower is like the backbone that supports all these elements of harmony, becoming a linking thread to the nation’s identity, because most batik motifs feature this flower. We are a federation, not a single ethnicity, so the artwork shows how different races and states come together as one country,” he said.

For Arif Rafhan, the blessings of peace and harmony – the heartbeat of life in Malaysia –     deserve to be translated into art to celebrate the country’s uniqueness, something he believes few nations possess.

Determined not to let this uniqueness go unexpressed, he believes visual art can attract public interest and serve as a medium of storytelling that keeps batik relevant, beyond temporary fashion cycles.

“In the 1990s, there was a GQ-style trend where jeans or modern clothing were folded at the hem and batik patterns were sewn onto the folded part. I saw a lot of people wearing that, but the trend was short-lived because batik was used merely as decoration.

“There was no storytelling behind those batik elements – they were simply motifs that followed a trend. Batik can definitely be trendy, but for it to last, it needs relevance, meaning it must have a story so it would endure,” he said.

Having ventured into illustration in 2014, Arif Rafhan said his choice of motifs and storytelling style is influenced by personal experiences and his passion for blending local cultural elements with social messages.

Among his notable works is an artwork created in solidarity with the Palestinian struggle, made special by incorporating Tatreez, the traditional Palestinian embroidery style. This combination, he said, makes the piece not only visually appealing but also deeply symbolic of the connection between the two nations.

“I included elements of Tatreez – Palestinian embroidery – and merged them with Malaysian batik to tell a story about Palestine. I used watermelon colours as a symbol of the fruit itself, which represents resilience,” he said.

He noted that the development of batik today is highly encouraging, with its evolution no longer confined to traditional patterns or specific colours. Instead, motifs and styles are now shaped by changing public tastes and the digital era.

He described this shift as one where motifs and colour palettes are no longer limited to local ecosystems, but are influenced by global developments as other countries also experiment with their own batik styles to stay relevant.

“In the past, you could clearly see Malaysian batik using bright colours, but now even Indonesia is starting to adopt bright colours. It’s no longer about that. Times change – people won’t buy the same things from the 1940s or 1950s. Every element and medium evolves.

“Malaysian batik has its own evolution too. It’s moving towards abstraction, with fewer floral motifs and more lines, dots, squares and swirls. So there’s no such thing as ‘you must stay inside this box forever’. Indonesia is evolving, Malaysia is evolving,” he said. — Bernama