Graduate Exhibition

'Social Fabric' is a range of experimental woven fabrics which form the basis of a voluntary workshop to be held with handloom weavers at the Khamir Craft Centre in Kutcch, Gujarat, India. Khamir is an Indian run NGO which encourages the creation of a socially and ecologically sustainable Gujarati craft sector. The workshop will equalise creative dictation while criticising the presence of a colonial psyche in global textile production, where one nationality is treated as superior to the other. 'Social Fabric' aims to encourage handloom weavers to consider the threat of Western-style industrial production as a potential opportunity for innovation and adaptation in their practice. This understanding may lead to the development of a group of weavers who remain committed to their own heritage while adapting needs in a changing sociological and ecological climate. The experimental fabrics are woven from textile, packaging, electrical, leather and automobile post-production waste. The final outcome is left open-ended to give the artisan the autonomy to develop the fabrics further.