PA/57/10 25 September 2010
Spectacular Textiles of the Commonwealth showcased in landmark Delhi exhibition
The Australian High Commissioner, Mr Peter Varghese, along with the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, the Honourable Mrs Meira Kumar, and the Minister of State for Textiles, Mrs. Panabaka Lakshmi, will launch a landmark exhibition this Sunday at the Crafts Museum in Delhi (5.30pm).
The Crafts Museum and the RMIT University Gallery have worked in partnership to deliver an extraordinary exhibition, Power Cloths of the Commonwealth, timed to coincide with the Commonwealth Games and open to the public from 28 September – 20 October 2010.
Announcing the exhibition, Mr Varghese said “The Commonwealth Games are about sporting excellence, but they are also a celebration of the many bonds that unite Commonwealth countries.
“This showcase of fine textiles from across the Commonwealth is a spectacular expression of our cultural diversity. This exhibition has been many years in the making and I am proud that that Australian Government has been able to support such an important expression of cultural exchange.”
Power Cloths mirrors an exhibition held in Melbourne in the margins of the 2006 Commonwealth Games. The co-curators, Suzanne Davies and Jasleen Dhamija, with the encouragement of the Chief Minister of Delhi, Mrs Shiela Dikshit, have again brought together a treasure trove of textiles with the assistance of private donors and the Delhi High Commissions of Commonwealth Countries.
Mr Varghese added, “I encourage all residents and visitors to Delhi to celebrate the cultural diversity of the Commonwealth as we also enjoy the elite sporting events of the Commonwealth Games.”
Curator Suzanne Davies, Director of the RMIT Gallery in Melbourne Australia said, “for Commonwealth countries, textiles provide an irresistible opportunity to explore our shared experiences and differences through rich, visceral, materials; they highlight our cultural wealth and diversity.”
Drawn from major museum and private collections from around the globe and covering all five continents, the exhibition presents a tight selection of key historical and contemporary works, many of which have never before been viewed publically.
The exhibition is generously supported by RMIT University, the Australian and Victorian Governments. This project is being overseen by an Advisory Committee who include: Dr Ruchira Ghose, Chairman, Crafts Museum; Mr Ashok Dhawan; Mr Sudhakar Rao and Mrs Anita Saran.
For details contact: Tim Huggins: 9810154256/ Shekhar Nambiar: 9810154167
Power clothes of the Commonwealth – an explanatory note from the curators
This exhibition at the Crafts Museum, Delhi celebrates key moments in Commonwealth history. In relation to textiles, the idea of ‘power’ has many intriguing connotations. For this exhibition power refers to a number of qualities and dimensions, including the power embodied in a garment by virtue of the excellence of technique in its making and / or the value of the materials from which it is made. These include cloths of high aesthetic value which were traded around the world.
For example the rare painted and printed Kalamkari created by Gujarati masters can be dated to 14th/16th century (Shilpa & Praful Shah, Mumbai) along with a large trade processional patola, a Moghul Brocade, hanging; Mr. C.L. Bharany, Delhi has lent a brocaded Jama, a brocaded khilat, exquisite Kashmir shawls, which used to be part of the tribute paid by Kashmir to Maharajah Ranjit Singh.
The Mohatta Museum, Karachi, has loaned an extraordinary pugree turban of a Baluchi Chief. Robes of Honour from the states in NWFP, Pakistan, are another special exhibit (loaned by Mr. Sumant Dhamija). The Crafts Museum has contributed a gold embroidered late Moghul Khilat, robe of honour and turban along with Neelambari and koniya worked Jamdanis of Dacca, Bangladesh, which represent the nebula venti, the finest muslin weaves, which were coveted through out the world.
‘Power’ may also arise from the spiritual, mystical or symbolic cultural status of the garment or cloth, like the clothing of a shaman. Such powers may also be embodied in the configuration of particular forms / shapes / images such as in the shaman’s wrapper from the Iban, Malaysia, or the Naga head hunters shawl. Ritually powerful cloths are further represented by the spectacular Yoruba masquerade costumes, the Egungun masks. The Makishi masquerade mask and dress of Zambia is another embodiment of ancestral spirits. There is a particular focus on ceremonial cloths used by indigenous communities from Canada, New Zealand and Australia including the possum skin cloak made by Australian Aboriginal elders and gifted to the former Lord Mayor of Melbourne, Mr John So.
‘Power’ may also arise as a consequence of the significance of the wearer, for example: the distinctive dress choices of major historical leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Kwame Nkrumah, Queen Victoria. Here, textiles signify political power or political positions of resistance and independence - Gandhiji Khadar Chader, the Gandhi Topi and Khadi as the livery of the freedom fighters; Nkrumah’s Kente cloth as the dress of Ghanian independence and identity; the boldly embroidered Hausa Nigerian Gown, the Riga; Nelson Mandela’s shirt; Jomo Kenyata’s fly whisk or Queen Victoria’s garment representing the centralised power of the Commonwealth.
And finally, there is the imaginative and transformative ‘power’ of celebration as seen in costumes from events such as Carnevale and the festivals that make countries unique such as the extravagance of costumes from Trinidad and Tabago.
Power Cloths of the Commonwealth
Featuring textiles from 22 Commonwealth nations across five continents
Gala Opening: Sunday, 26 September, 5:30 pm
Crafts Museum
Bhairon Marg, Pragati Maidan, New Delhi 1