{"id":13699,"date":"2024-08-30T09:04:34","date_gmt":"2024-08-30T09:04:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/khabarok.com\/entertainment\/13699\/"},"modified":"2024-08-30T09:04:34","modified_gmt":"2024-08-30T09:04:34","slug":"textile-art-more-than-a-trend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/khabarok.com\/?p=13699","title":{"rendered":"Textile art: more than a trend?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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From the mundane to the myth, India\u2019s identity is deeply intertwined with its textiles. They have nurtured craftsmanship, built communities, played a role in national revolutions, and paved the way to create world trade networks. Yet, despite its rich history spanning centuries, it has garnered few enthusiasts as a medium within the arts. Today, textile-based shows are slowly working to change this narrative.<\/p>\n

Threads That Bare<\/i>\u00a0at the ongoing Delhi Contemporary Art Week (DCAW) showcases how artists can draw inspiration from India\u2019s diverse textile traditions to create multifaceted storytelling. It is being presented at a significant time \u2014 when curators and galleries are exhibiting a growing number of textile-based shows in the subcontinent. From\u00a0Vayan \u2013 The Art of Indian Brocades<\/i>, curated by Mayank Mansingh Kaul, at Delhi\u2019s National Crafts Museum (2023), to\u00a0Sutr Santati<\/i>\u00a0at NGMA in Mumbai (2024), and\u00a0Entwined – Edition 2<\/i>\u00a0by Apparao Galleries.<\/p>\n

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Creating a visual map<\/h4>\n

Artist Natasha Das, traditionally trained in oils, shifted to textiles after finding limitations with paint. Working with thread, fabric, and the weaving communities of Assam, she finally got the space to be vulnerable through her art. \u201cI shifted to memories and touch,\u201d she says. \u201cWhen the pandemic hit, I closed my studio and started working with thread, layering it like oil. Textiles gave me a platform to feel, bond, and be present. My choice to use\u00a0eri<\/i>\u00a0and\u00a0muga<\/i>\u00a0silk in my works stemmed from this experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"Color<\/div>\n

\nColor Bricks; thread work on eri<\/i> silk\n<\/p>\n

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At DCAW, her work\u00a0Lahe Land 2<\/i>\u00a0(lahe lahe<\/i>\u00a0means \u2018slowly\u2019 in Assamese) is an ode to the culture of the region and its landscape. \u201cIt is a visual map constructed from memory. I started by stitching and attaching, creating blocks of colour that are dense, and playful threads that connect these spaces,\u201d she explains. \u201cThe beautiful violet you see is the water hyacinth of Assam; the onion green eri silk is earthy. Each thread carries a memory and has a tale to tell.\u201d<\/p>\n

Also at\u00a0Threads That Bare<\/i>\u00a0\u2014 which features 14 artists \u2014 are Geeta Khandelwal and Khadim Ali. Khandelwal has dedicated decades to studying and practising the art of quilt-making. On display are her meticulously recreated miniature royal garments from the 18th and 19th centuries using techniques such as\u00a0hand-sewing and quilting. Ali, meanwhile, draws from miniature and tapestry traditions. His body of work bears witness to his family\u2019s migrations, loss, and trauma resulting from the conflict zones of Afghanistan and Pakistan, which he still calls home. In his monumental mixed-media work,\u00a0I\u2019m the Third Script 2<\/i>, he employs embroidery on cotton and silk, intricately weaving his childhood memories on fabric.<\/p>\n

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\"Geeta<\/div>\n

\nGeeta Khandelwal\u2019s miniature royal garments\n<\/p>\n

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\n\u201cWhile the market may\u00a0seem small currently, I believe it\u2019s on the cusp of expansion with the backing of gallerists and collectors who genuinely appreciate and engage with textile art.\u201dSharan ApparaoCurator-director, Apparao Galleries<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Ideas, identities and emotions<\/h4>\n

While for some\u00a0fibre artists, a concept or experience serves as inspiration, for others, it\u2019s the inherent nature of the material itself. \u201cThey have the ability to adapt, making them receptive to different ideas, stories, identities, and emotions,\u201d says Rajarshi Sengupta, art historian and practitioner, whose textile works inspired by the\u00a0kalamkari<\/i>\u00a0tradition were part of\u00a0Entwined<\/i>\u00a0last month. \u201cMy practice also recognises coexistence as a key theme that connects questions of visual and sensory elements,\u00a0shared histories and future directions.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"At<\/div>\n

\nAt Entwined<\/i><\/p>\n

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Sengupta\u2019s inquiry into the history of\u00a0kalam<\/i>\u00a0began with master carvers Kondra Gangadhar and Kondra Narsaiah, in their woodblock-making workshop in Andhra Pradesh\u2019s Machilipatnam region. He also ventured into the dyeing practices \u2014 of coastal communities of the Coromandel \u2014 that have an impact on the application of colours on textiles.\u00a0His work\u00a0Catalogue Konda<\/i>\u00a0is an extension of this exploration and ethnographic studies of Deccani textiles and their artisanal histories.<\/p>\n

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\"Rajarshi<\/div>\n

\nRajarshi Sengupta\u2019s Again<\/i>; natural dye on myrobalan treated handwoven cotton\n<\/p>\n

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With such significant textile-based art exhibitions being curated, one can\u2019t help but wonder why the sudden surge of interest. Delhi-based Kaul, a curator with a focus on textiles, says, \u201cThis is a reflection of a global trend. I have observed that the field of contemporary visual arts, from time to time, has a tendency to draw from varied creative sources. We have seen this in the past with architecture, film, and so on. Textiles seem to be its fascination at the moment, and while this is welcome at many levels, those who have worked with the medium for a long time are also cautious that this does not remain a passing phenomenon. That it is able to translate into a better market for fibre-based artists, as well as sustained commercial viability for the galleries involved.\u201d<\/p>\n

Embroidery and women\u2019s agency<\/h4>\n

Textiles are also being examined from a gendered perspective. Their associated material, style, and processes that were previously categorised as a \u2018woman\u2019s craft\u2019 have long been absent from the universally accepted definition of fine arts. Artists \u2014 and yes, primarily women artists \u2014 are asserting their agency and challenging this traditional divide.<\/p>\n

For instance, Varunika Saraf\u2019s\u00a0The Longest Revolution<\/i>\u00a0(part of the 2023 show\u00a0CheMoulding<\/i>\u00a0at Chemould Prescott Road, Mumbai) was created using embroidery on a cotton textile. \u201cI am interested in women\u2019s agency, women as makers of their own futures and agents of socio-political change,\u201d she says. \u201cWhen I thought about the hopes, beliefs and fears that I share with the women in my life, it seemed natural to embroider.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"A<\/div>\n

\nA section of Varunika Saraf\u2019s\u00a0The Longest Revolution<\/i>
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\nCourtesy @chemouldprescottroad\n<\/p>\n

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Adding to the discourse, Kaul says, \u201cGlobally, curators have suggested that this current fixation with textile-based art is also emerging from an increased attention to women-based art practices. I personally think there is, overall, a greater interest in materiality and abstraction than before. Or perhaps this is only natural, given the long neglect of the field by the art world.\u201d<\/p>\n

The seventh edition of DCAW is on till September 4 at Bikaner House.<\/i><\/p>\n

The writer is a Delhi-based museum and arts professional. <\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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