Sari art invokes ‘motherly embrace’

Kochi: An art installation named ‘Mother’s Wrap-Embraced in Love’, which uses saris as a medium to pay tribute to ‘mother’s love’ is getting attention at the satellite exhibition of Kochi-Muziris Biennale at the Vypeen Water Metro terminal. The installation is part of Raga Collective, an exhibition of works by various artists and conceptualized by fashion designer Maithri Srikant.The pentagonal installation formed of wood features saris of the mothers of various eminent personalities like Shashi Tharoor, Resul Pookutty, Sanju Samson, Keerthy Suresh, Adoor Gopalakrishnan, singer Sujatha Mohan, national award winner Nanchamma, among others. Using the saris, the idea of being enveloped and surrounded in the warmth of a mother’s embrace, is conveyed.“The Wrap concept using saris or fabrics is a loving ode to an unconditional love — to mothers, who are the strongest female entity of one’s life, the one who gave birth to life. The idea of being enveloped and surrounded in the warmth of a mother’s embrace is beautiful and inspiring, and textile has been used as a medium for the purpose. I have added my mother’s and grandmother’s sari too in the installation,” Maithri said.Some of the saris curated and collected span over 60 years of existence and form a sacred family heirloom in terms of its heritage and sentimental value. Some of them still have coffee or curry stains and they are preserved as they evoke the nostalgic memories of mother and one’s childhood. “The displayed saris include nine-yard Kanjivaram silks with half-diamond border, Aathipoo design weaves, hand-painted kalamkari, Kanchi cotton, Kerala kasavu, Mysore silk, etc, which altogether gives the splendour of traditional textile wardrobes and power of family bonds and relationships,” said Maithri.In the installation, Ajrakh fabrics — a unique form of block-printed fabric found mainly in Sindh in Pakistan, Kutch in Gujarat and Barmer in Rajasthan — have been metaphorically used to symbolize the universe through colours, hand block print techniques and design language. Red signifies earth, black for darkness, white for clouds and blue for sky and universe itself, she added.Nanchamma inaugurated the exhibition on December 26.