Stitch in Time

Harriet Riddell at work. (Deepak Shijagurumayum)

The main show areas at fashion weeks are the epicentre of action, but equally buzzing with activity (and business) is the exhibition space with its designer stalls. This season, as we entered designer Aneeth Arora’s stall at the recent Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week (WIFW), we saw the designer hard at work giving a presentation to a prospective buyer. We also noticed a brightly decorated corner where a young woman was bent over, working on a sewing machine. Was this a live demonstration or an alterations corner, we wondered, only to be introduced to Harriet Riddell, a “performance textile artist” who “stitches up stories” via a sewing machine. On the wall behind her were embroidered cloth panels that depicted scenes from Arora’s workshop, craftswomen at work and even the stall area.

Riddell, 23, is a one-of-a-kind artist who draws in stitch. She observes her surroundings and people to create a narrative of her experience. “Ordinarily, artists draw on canvas. I treat cloth as my canvas,” said Riddell, who is from England and is currently touring India. The experience she gains from interacting with new environments, she admitted, feeds into her stitching. Snatches of conversation and scraps of material are also woven into her work, which also includes portraiture. “My work is produced live, with an audience or in the public eye. By observing and responding to my surroundings, I quickly and intuitively capture the moving world around me. I believe this brings life to the stitched lines,” said Riddell, who recently captured the Taj Mahal in a work, stitching furiously in a nearby village as the sun rose over the monument. So, there are washing lines, cows and rural life in the frame as well. “India has been a wonderful experience and my public sessions always draw curiosity.

I am looking to go back to Jaipur again soon,” said Riddell, who hopes to collaborate with Arora for her next collection.