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Exhibition Review - Textiles And Tribal Art

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  • Exhibition Review - Textiles And Tribal Art

    EXHIBITION REVIEW - TEXTILES AND TRIBAL ART

    The Muslim News, UK
    Sept 27 2006

    Current events in London illustrate the immense interest in the art
    and designs of the Islamic World: the popular 2006 exhibition "World
    in the Art" at the British Museum, the refurbished Islamic Galleries
    at the V&A.

    One such exhibition was the grand and annual show, 'Textiles and Tribal
    Art - The HALI Fair 2006', which was established almost 10 years ago.

    The context and content of the show were absolutely vast: textiles,
    rugs and ethnographic works of art, were shown by 75 dealers from
    across five different continents.

    Those who know me will agree, as a hand woven textile artist, that I
    am being biased to focus and highlight the Textiles of the Islamic
    World. It is also due to an overall interest and concern regarding
    the contemporary issues of textiles in the art and design of the
    Islamic World.

    Traditional weaving techniques are widely practised in all Muslim
    countries. Colour, technique, weight of cloth, design and equipment
    vary according to the different continents and the countries
    themselves. They are woven by specialist master weavers, who are
    usually from established and talented families with a long weaving
    tradition. The HALI Fair highlights these extraordinary hand-woven
    pieces which deserve to be appreciated as works of Art.

    The exhibition was a pleasant surprise, a cultural melting pot,
    like the Silk Road. It consisted of a wealth of Ikat weaving from
    Uzbekistan, rare fabrics from Algeria, carpets from Turkey and fine
    woven fabrics from Mughal India and Africa.

    The Nemati Collections of Rugs truly caught my attention - Tousanian
    Prayer Rug, Turkey, C.1920 Silk and metal. 132x198.

    Tousanian was an Armenian who lived in England and set up a workshop
    in Kumpaki, a district inhabited by Armenians. In 1915, Tousanian
    began to recreate some of the finest silk woven carpets, modelled
    after traditional pieces. This particular piece is rare in design.

    The central area illustrates a kingdom of exotic birds and animals,
    while the upper mihrab depicts verses of the Qur'an. Tousanian used
    traditional Kumpaki carpet techniques of weaving with metallic
    threads. The texture of the Prayer Rug is incredibly smooth and
    uniquely thin.

    I then came across a rare collection of hand-woven fabrics from Lybia
    and Tunisia. These amazing pieces of cloth are hand-dyed with natural
    dye and spontaneously woven. They are very old and the collector
    'Menzel Galerie NordAfrika' could not tell me much about the time
    they were produced. I found them very contemporary and although they
    were traditionally used as a bridal head cover and veil, they all
    have the potential to be contemporary interior pieces.

    Hand-woven textiles are a central and integral part of Islamic Art and
    Design. However, the question that begs to be asked is if the art of
    textiles is just part of the historical heritage of the Islamic Art
    and Design or if we can revive it within the contemporary Islamic
    Art and Design?
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