Project: Cut from the Same Cloth
Artist: Seema Kohli
Presenter Gallery: GALLERIE NVYA
Venue: Bikaner House, Center of Contemporary Art, New Delhi
Date for the show: 28th July to 4th Aug
Weaving Conversations: 29th July 2023
Performance: 3rd August 2023
Cut from the Same Cloth (2017 - 2023) is initiated as a universal odyssey dedicated to exploring the self and its relationship with the spiritual cosmos. Inspired by the motif of the universal thread or bloodline that runs through each one of us, Kohli turns to a new medium, embroidery, to give a new turn to her work. Seema inquires into the limits of her own art-practise by constantly blurring the boundaries between myth and reality; self and the other. For her art, life, and sharing truly intersect, her practice spills across the canvas of her entire life. As a contemporary artist, she studied the ancient myths and figures of India, exploring in them interwoven themes of beauty, sensuality, and spirituality. Through constant experimentations with various art mediums, Seema Kohli has created her own narrative amalgamations of these subject matters.
Kohli’s work is primarily a celebration of the female form and Shakti: the feminine cosmic energy; which is the source of all powers of creation and destruction. She considers herself a visual artist and an abstract storyteller. “The stories I weave are not autobiographical, but yet they are deeply personal and connected with the occurrences in my life” in her own words.
This assemblage of works, in particular, expresses diverse nuances of life and different pathways to nirvana, the final liberation. In this journey she felt guided by the verses of various weaver saints like Kabir, Nanak, Namdev, Baba Farid, Bulleh Shah and Shah Hussain. Their message was simple and taught how the body and soul were woven together. In this series she explores, the physicality, the body, experiencing life in general and the teachings of these weaver saints through the visual deployment of techniques of weaving and stitching.
During the design of the project, she managed to acquire a weaving loom and a charkha from Panipat weavers which will be part of the installation. She also employs the unique mechanical sonorities of the loom as a symbolic representation of the ceaseless cosmic creation into which we are all minutely interwoven. The project will consist of 15 artworks embroidered with silk and cotton threads, beads, and sequins on an untreated canvas cloth. There will be three paintings in acrylics with gold and silver leaf on canvas; as well as two works on gold tissue procured from Banaras that bring together painting and embroidery. Apart from this there will also be a multidimensional performance that brings together animation, music, poetry, and movement.