“The cloth is like the light vapours of dawn”
Yuan Chwang, Chinese traveller to India, 629-45 AD
Light Vapours of Dawn continues my practice of examining notions of memory, family history and cultural connection through vessels made from two materials, porcelain and repurposed cloth and thread. This focus exhibition presents an opportunity to explore possibilities for new and more direct conversations between my two materials, using a 100-year-old camisole belonging to my mother.
Made of cotton net with a lace border, this garment has spiritual significance for my mother. Called a sudreh, the camisole is central to my mother’s ancient Persian religion and is worn daily, closest to the skin. Usually sewn from fine cotton muslin (mulmul), cotton net sudreh were worn on special days and given as gifts at weddings and feast days. This camisole was given to my mother by her mother, at one such occasion. By repurposing the net and fixing the fabric to the vessel wall, I am making visible and giving new prominence to cloth that till now has been concealed and covered. Giving it a new life allows me to share the story of its journey and its significance. It is imbued with memories of people and place and opens conversations about family gatherings and shared times, about rituals and practices. Within its fibres reside narratives of who I belong to and where I come from. Brought together through my process, the porcelain and textile vessels serve as memory-keepers, a powerful holding space of ancestral history and cultural tradition.
