A conversation between fibre and photo

An ongoing show juxtaposes Monika Correa's tapestries and Seher Shah's prints and photogravures

- Avantika Bhuyan

An installation view of the exhibition, 'Woven Nights'

(COURTESY JHAVERI CONTEMPORARY)

Two artists, separated by age and geography, enter into a dialogue with each other in the exhibition, Woven Nights.

Tapestries by Mumbai-based Monika Correa and one of India’s leading fibre artists, share space with prints, drawings and photogravures by Seher Shah who lives and works out in Barcelona.

When viewed together, it feels as if the two bodies of works are whispering to one another, united by a language of lyrical minimalism. Gradations of monochrome, and a play of light and shadow are visible. A sense of meditative calm permeates the show, reflecting the slow, process-driven and labour-intensive practices that the two artists follow, with some of the works taking years to be produced.

The recent tapestries by Correa, such as Confused and Four Quarters in unbleached and dyed cotton, are a result of experimentation. “Dismantling parts of the loom, she liberates her threads and works in extra weft to introduce subtle movement and enhance the texture of her elegant works. Tight and loosened, Correa maximizes the woven tradition and wrests it from convention,” states the gallery note.

A trained microbiologist, who turned to weaving in the 1960s, Correa imbues her tapestries with “a kinetic quality” as art historian Jyotindra Jain once described in an essay.