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Weftscape, an attempt to interpret jamdani traditions with a contemporary lens

STIR @ SAF 2019
STIRring conversations at SAF’19 (Part 1): We speak to the artist and curator of a textile design-presentation that provided a sensorial experience at the Serendipity Arts Festival.

by Rahul KumarPublished on : Jan 10, 2020

Do traditions have a place in the contemporary world? This is a question that I often ask myself and there is no right (or wrong) answer, I feel. Whatever we may believe in this context, it is imperative that customs and practices are altered to become relevant for the ‘now’. Artist Bappaditya Biswas and wife, Rumi Biswas, have painstakingly worked with jamdani weavers, training them and developing ideas for products that may be interesting to the present-day world. “The trigger for us to move in this direction was when we saw handlooms being dismantled and its wood being used to burn as fuel. That was the state of affairs with weavers just a few years back, owing to lack of opportunities and diminishing relevance for the products they made,” says Biswas.

We take a walk with him and Pramod Kumar HG, Curator, at their exhibition titled Weftscapes, reviving the traditions of jamdani textile and indigo dying at Serendipity Arts Festival (2019), Goa.

Jamdani is a fine muslin cloth on which decorative motifs are woven using a mixture of cotton and gold thread. This weaving tradition comes from the Bengal region in eastern India and Bangladesh.

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Rahul Kumar

Rahul Kumar

Contributor

Rahul is the former Editor (Arts), STIR. He has been a Consulting Editor with Arts Illustrated and has written for various publications like Mint-Lounge and Vogue. Before retiring from mainstream corporate roles, he led an art venture for NDTV and was also involved in its television programming. He is a Fulbright scholar, a Charles Wallace fellow, and a practising artist.

Rahul is the former Editor (Arts), STIR. He has been a Consulting Editor with Arts Illustrated and has written for various publications like Mint-Lounge and Vogue. Before retiring from mainstream corporate roles, he led an art venture for NDTV and was also involved in its television programming. He is a Fulbright scholar, a Charles Wallace fellow, and a practising artist.

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STIR STIRworld STIR conversations at SAF’19, Part 1 | Weftscape at Serendipity Arts Festival 2019 | Bappaditya Biswas and Pramod Kumar HG| STIRworld

Weftscape, an attempt to interpret jamdani traditions with a contemporary lens

STIRring conversations at SAF’19 (Part 1): We speak to the artist and curator of a textile design-presentation that provided a sensorial experience at the Serendipity Arts Festival.

by Rahul Kumar | Published on : Jan 10, 2020