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Journalism of Courage
In 1971, when artist Madhvi Parekh painted an image of Kali armed with weapons against an intricate backdrop of folk iconography, the thought of it travelling to a fashion ramp in the world’s sartorial capital Paris was inconceivable. Yet, five decades later, the work, World of Kali, turned out to be a conversation starter at the French capital at the spring-summer 2022 haute couture presentation of global luxury brand Christian Dior last week.
Showcased alongside her husband, artist Manu Parekh’s work, an embroidered version of World of Kali was part of the fashion giant’s set at Musée Rodin in Paris. Carefully embroidered tapestries based on the modernist artists’ works garnered as much attention as the monotone outfits showcased by Italian fashion designer Maria Grazia Chiuri, creative director at Dior.
“The response has been overwhelming,” says Manu, 82. Unable to attend the show in-person due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the artists viewed it live from their Delhi home. “It was fabulously designed and put together. The project intertwines art, craft and design and is a celebration of our heritage, which we ought to celebrate more often,” he says.
The process began last year, when Karishma Swali, creative director of Mumbai-based embroidery house Chanakya and co-founder of Chanakya School of Craft, came to the couple with the proposal of embroidering their artwork on tapestries. “I began collecting works by the Parekhs many years ago and found an incredible synergy between modernism and traditional Indian motifs… The collective vision for this collaboration was to create an immersive experience that celebrates the culture of craftsmanship and the interconnection between us all,” says Swali, who took the initiative to reach out to the fashion brand and get them on board. During a subsequent trip to Europe, she and Chiuri shortlisted 12 works by Madhvi and 10 by Manu to translate onto tapestries, which comprise the monumental display — it included Madhvi’s paintings seeped in folk and rural traditions and Manu’s spiritual abstracts and a rendition from his famous Banaras series. “We were looking at works that we felt complemented the male and female energies coming together in perfect harmony,” says Swali.
The transition to cloth took place at the Chanakya atelier in Mumbai, under the close watch of Swali and remotely by the artist couple. While the natural tonalities of paint and thread would differ, each detail was carefully studied and it took over 320 artisans more than six months to embroider 340 sq m (3,600 sq. ft) of work by hand. Most tapestries have six-seven layers to create depth and several traditional techniques have also been used, from variations of knots and zardozi to sfumato, couching, stem stitch and feather stitch. “We followed a very instinctive process, allowing the form and lines of the artists’ paintings to lead the way. The aim was to retain the purity and power of the works and vividness of lines, and, therefore, we used organic cotton, ecologically dyed material, fine silk and cotton and linen threads,” says Swali.
Manu’s experience of working as a designer at the Handloom Board for over two decades, in the 1960s and ’70s, also enabled seamless ideation of the visual narrative. “During that period, I travelled across India, deep into the villages of Odisha, Bihar and Rajasthan, to create new textile patterns with the rural craftspeople. My aim was to promote indigenous materials and design. The aim here is also to recognise and appreciate our craft,” says Manu.
Even as Swali introduces the audience in Paris to the philosophy, symbolism and techniques of the works on display at Musée Rodin till January 30, back in Mumbai, at the atelier, artisans are embroidering more tapestries based on the artists’ works, scheduled to travel across the world later this year. For her part, Madhvi is happy to have put a bit of India in the West. “Durga and Kali represent the strength of women and my work has been an embodiment of that feminine energy. It represents our religion and culture. Though we wish we could have attended the fashion show in Paris, we enjoyed attending it online too,” says Madhvi, 80.
