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UNE RUE de PONDICHERRY

Timeline
8 weeks (March-May ‘21)

Independent Project

Tools
Various Yarns
4 Harness Hand Loom
Adobe Photoshop

Skills
Concept Development, Hand Weaving, Rug Design, Research, Sampling, Product Development, Photography

THE PROJECT

Capturing the essence of the Franse town in India through weaving on a four-harness loom to explore light, depth, texture and space through striping, materiality, perspective and tapestry weaving.

THE IMPACT

Funds, from the sale of the final novelty rug, were directed to revive and sustain the handloom sector in Pondicherry.

REVIVING HANDLOOM–– As one of the centers of the ‘Swadeshi’ Movement (Independence Movement) in India, handloom was integral to Pondicherry’s history. This project used hand-weaving techniques to revive and celebrate handloom.

THE APPROACH

Phase 1– Research

Creating moodboards focusing on the scaping pastel houses and windings streets of Pondicherry: the quintessential ‘Franse’ town in India, that represents the beautiful parts of Western influence, while showcasing years of imperialist conquests and colonialism in the South Asian subcontinent.

Phase 2– Sampling

Woven swatches focused on the small details of the French town that have been preserved and continue to live in the secular fabric of the ethereal Pondicherry: the paint which scrapes off the turquoise doorways, the shadow of the first ray of sunlight on Anger’s minimalist staircase, the foliage which frames the nooks and crannies in the pastel houses.

Phase 3– Resolution

With time, I started prioritizing the complexity of certian spaces: how did act of slathering French ochre on top of Indian bhura (brown) represent the larger colonial history still prevelant in Pondicherry’s memories? What is my view of Pondicherry, as an Indian who is still enchanted by the whimsical Franse Town?

PHASE 1– RESEARCH

MOODBOARD

I chose to begin my exploration with questions that prompted me to examine the cultural and physical architecture and topography of the space. For example, what lives in the saffron house behind those rusted wooden doors?

REFERENCES

Inspired by Anni Albers’ weaving journals, these images were integral to my process.

PHASE 2– SAMPLING

STRIPES

Striping to discect and analyse landscapes, light, and shadow:

MATERIAL STUDIES

Examining texture and material through continuous twill weaves and pile:

ARCHITECTURAL & PERSPECTIVE STUDIES

Exploring space and perspective through woven tapestries:

CONTRAST STUDIES

Understanding the dicotomy between the French and Indian views of the Franse-Indian town:

DOUBLE WEAVES

Explorations of space, depth & volume in a double weave.

The exploration of the colonial town of Pondicherry expands by trying to understand what stories, histories, and memories live in the spaces which are reservoirs of colonial life in the French-Indian town.

Exploration 1: What lies in that space behind the yellow doors of a Pondicherry home?

Exploration 2: What is the gesture of the string of flowers we adorn in our hair?

PHASE 3– RESOLUTION

CONCEPT & PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

The idyllic view of Pondicherry– the sweeping banyan trees, the long, flower-clad streets, and the canopied pastel houses

The commander-general who lead the successful conquest of Pondicherry, was from the same commandment as General Rochambeau: the general after who conquered Providence, RI– the city where this rug was woven. As the artist, I took this tapestry to Rochambeau House: home to one of my favorite gardens in Providence, and allowed myself to walk all over it, walk all over the French, Western view of my country.

Using this tapestry, which took my 60 hours to make, as a mere rug had a sense of liberation attached to it: the feeling of discarding years of colonial ideology and the Western gaze which has tainted the Indian mind.

Presenting this tapestry in the hands of the ‘white’ colonizer, discern the fact that this idyllic image was and always will be the view held by Westerners of their exotic, ‘other’ conquests.

Dimensions: 42 x 66 inches

REFLECTION

Weaving is a physically and emotionally demanding craft

Weaving on the 4-harness loom tested the limits of my patience, and physical strength. It taught me how to be more forgiving and kind with the process.

Slow craft and creative output is healing for the hurting soul

Weaving was a creative outlet to dealing with feelings of colonial trauma and even personal trauma.

Space and people are an important part of craft practices

Space, place, and embodying race were part of the collaborative nature of weaving. They allowed me to get closer to my community and people.

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