DROP CLOTH

Opening Reception: Saturday, March 25 from 2:00-4:00pm

The works included in Swapnaa Tamhane’s solo exhibition propose to consider the medium of drawing as one that can be about an accumulation, as a series of marks made by many over time. The title DROP CLOTH refers to heavier industrially produced cotton that is pinned to the long print beds of Ajrakh block printers working in the desert region of Kutch, Gujarat. These drop cloths or achadiya absorb the residues and excessive resist that seeps through during the block printing process, and are a record of the action and sound of wood blocks as they repeatedly stamp cloth for commercial production. The achadiya is the material that is never meant to be seen, celebrated, or considered as something of value, what Tamhane likens to a diasporic experience. When dyed in indigo, residual marks of Ajrakh and Tamhane’s motifs are revealed and create a self-generating composition of a layering of marks, traces, and ghost prints made by several hands working over these surfaces. In response to the revealed prints and residues, Tamhane has applied mirrors on the achadiya almost drawing with them and creating a surface that creates reflection and carries light. The foundation of her framing about mark-making, drawing, and layering connects to the poet/saint Kabir, as a metaphor, in how his poetry and songs became a community of authors over centuries. Kabir, was a cotton weaver from the 15th Century, and his words travelled with pilgrimage and trade routes in what is now India. His poetry became multi-layered and interwoven with several languages and dialects. Eventually, the oral began to merge with the written, and form, meaning, repetition, and improvisation began to blur. Kabir becomes a site or index for Tamhane to think about drawing as a palimpsest or a community/collective. Alongside the achadiya are two drawings that are scenes from the homes and altars of weavers, as well as a recycled plastic weaving made from waste garbage bags and biscuit wrappers.