From the mundane to the mythical, India’s identity is intertwined with textiles. They have nurtured jobs, built communities, played a role in national revolutions, and paved the way for the creation of world trade networks. However, despite its rich history over the centuries, it has gained few fans as a medium in art. Today, textile-based exhibitions are slowly working to change this narrative.
Bare thread at the ongoing Delhi Contemporary Art Week (DCAW) showcases how artists can draw inspiration from India’s diverse textile traditions to create diverse stories. It was presented at an important time – when curators and galleries presented many textile-based exhibitions on the subcontinent. of Vayan – The Art of Indian Brocadescurated by Mayank Mansingh Kaul, at Delhi’s National Crafts Museum (2023), for Sutra Santati at NGMA in Mumbai (2024), and Entwined – 2nd Edition by Apparao Galleries.
Create a visual map
Artist Natasha Das, traditionally trained in oil, switched to textiles after discovering her limitations with paint. Working with threads, fabrics, and the weaving community of Assam, she finally found a space to be vulnerable through art. “I go to the memories and touch,” she said. “When the pandemic hit, I closed my studio and started working with yarn, coated like oil. Textiles gave me a platform to feel, bond, and be present. My choice to use thorn and please The thread in my work comes from this experience.
Color Bricks; working thread thorn silk
At DCAW, he works Lahe Land 2 (it’s fine meaning ‘slowly’ in Assamese) is an ode to the region’s culture and landscape. “It’s a visual map made from memory. I start by sewing and gluing, creating solid blocks of color, and fun threads that connect the spaces,” she explains. “The beautiful violet you see is the Assam hyacinth; the onion green thorn silk is the earth. Each thread carries memories and has a story to tell.
Also in Bare thread – which featured 14 artists – namely Geeta Khandelwal and Khadim Ali. Khandelwal has dedicated decades to learning and practicing the art of quilt making. On display are meticulously crafted miniature royal garments from the 18th and 19th centuries using techniques such as hand sewing and quilting. Ali, meanwhile, draws from the tradition of miniatures and tapestry. His body of work bears witness to his family’s migration, loss, and trauma due to the conflict zones of Afghanistan and Pakistan, which he still calls home. In this monumental work of mixed media, I’m the Third Script 2who works with embroidery on cotton and silk, intricately weaving childhood memories on the fabric.
Geeta Khandelwal miniature royal dress
“While the current market seems small, I believe it is on the cusp of expansion with the support of galleries and collectors who truly appreciate and participate in textile art.”Sharan ApparaoCurator-director, Apparao Galleries
Ideas, identities and emotions
While for some fiber artists, a concept or experience is the inspiration, for others, it is the natural nature of the material. “They have the ability to adapt, making them able to accept different ideas, stories, identities and emotions,” says Rajarshi Sengupta, an art historian and practitioner, whose textile work is inspired by Kalamkari tradition were part of Bound last month. “My practice also recognizes coexistence as a central theme that connects questions of visual and sensory elements, shared histories and future directions.”
At Bound
Sengupta’s investigation of history pen started with master carvers Kondra Gangadhar and Kondra Narsaiah, in a wood block making workshop in the Machilipatnam region of Andhra Pradesh. He also worked on dyeing practices – the Coromandel coastal communities – which had an impact on the application of color in textiles. His work Konda Catalogue as an extension of the exploration and ethnographic study of Deccani textiles and its artisanal history.
Rajarshi Sengupta again; natural dyes in myrobalan handwoven cotton
With a curated exhibition of textile art, you can’t help but wonder why there has been such a sudden surge of interest. Delhi-based Kaul, a curator with a focus on textiles, says, “This is a reflection of global trends. I have observed that the field of contemporary visual arts, from time to time, has tended to draw from various creative sources. We have seen this in the past with architecture, film, etc. Textiles seem to be an attraction at this time, and while this is accepted on many levels, those who have worked with the medium for a long time are also careful that this is not remains a phenomenon that can translate into a better market for fiber-based artists, as well as commercial viability for participating galleries.
Embroidery and women’s agency
Textiles are also examined from a gender perspective. The materials, styles, and associated processes previously categorized as ‘women’s crafts’ have long been absent from the universally accepted definition of fine art. Artists ā and yes, especially women artists ā are asserting their agency and challenging these traditional divides.
For example, Varunika Saraf The longest revolution (part of the 2023 event CheMoulding at Chemould Prescott Road, Mumbai) is made with embroidery on cotton textiles. “I’m interested in women’s agency, women as makers of their own future and agents of socio-political change,” she says. “When I think about the hopes, beliefs and fears I share with the women in my life, it’s like embroidery.”
A part of Varunika Saraf The longest revolution
| Photo Credit: Courtesy @chemouldprescottroad
Adding to the discourse, Kaul said, “Globally, curators suggest that the current fixation with textile-based art also arises from greater attention to women’s art practices. I personally think there is, overall, more interest in materiality and abstraction than before. Or perhaps that this is only natural, because the field has long been neglected by the art world.
The seventh edition of DCAW continues till September 4 at Bikaner House.
The author is a museum and art professional based in Delhi.
