A recent exhibition at the British museum displayed and documented a rich Africa textile tradition. In a previous blog post, I wrote about an exhibition and symposium entitled ‘Social Fabric‘ in which fabric was used as a metaphor for society, and often a symbol of colonial power. On the other hand, the recent exhibition at the British Museum – Social Fabric: African textiles today displays cloths that directly and graphically express the wearer’s political, social, religious, sexual and emotional views and concerns. The textiles on display were kangas – textiles I recognised but knew very little about. I immediately remembered a picture I had cut out of the Guardian, of Masai…
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Ahmedabad part 3: Rabari cattle herding, dancing and thali eating
On arrival back to Ahmedabad after my trip to Pethapur about 3pm, I was exhausted and hungry, I hadn’t yet eaten that day. The bus dropped me off near Ellis bridge, so I walked over in the direction of the lovely Green house restaurant in the House of MG. I encountered the SEWA (Self-employed Women’s association) on the way though, which I had been meaning to visit, so stopped and had a look. As you do, I bumped into a girl from Sheffield (also my birthplace). I told her I’d just been to visit Maneklal, and she said she’d also been there the day before. Then when she said she was…
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Ahmedabad part 2: Block carving
Image: Chetan demonstrating block carving I told Errol at NID that I planned to visit Maneklal Gajjar the famous master wood block carver who has, for decades produced carved blocks for many block printers all round Gujarat, Rajasthan and other Indian states. Erroll gave me a detailed description of how to get to Pethapur where Maneklal lives and known for its block carvers. So I set off the next day determined to meet this man who is so widely praised. I arose early in hope of avoiding busy traffic, jumped in a rickshaw, which took me to the wrong bus stand, which I only realised after about half an hour,…
