Silicon Jamdani Sari: 2015

Commissioned by the Devi Art Foundation for FRACTURE - an exhibition on Contemporary Indian Textiles - The Silicon Jamdani Sari is inspired by the traditional Jamdani weave of India.

Patterned motifs

In traditional Jamdani weaving, pattern motifs were typically worked in white. Extra-weft threads for pattern were of the same fineness as those used in the fabric. In the best traditional examples, therefore the pattern could only be discerned when the textile was held against the light.

Weaving Silicon

Sheets of silicon were first disintegrated into thin strips creating the "yarn" and then hand-woven in traditional Jamdani weave style.

RADICAL MATERIAL PLAY

Woven into a sari-like length, with a heavy but translucent body fabric worked with opaque extra-weft patterns. The plain fabric areas achieve a strikingly delicate and lightweight texture reminiscent of fine muslin. The stretched silicon yarns release their tension, creating gentle undulations on the flat surface.