Muslin Khadi

Much has been written about Gandhi's use of hand-spun, hand-woven cotton, Khadi, as a non-violent, political force in India's freedom movement. As a preferred garment in all areas of public service, it has remained an enduring symbol of nationalist India. Above all else, perhaps, Khadi embodies a wider range of uses and associations than any other traditional Indian fabric. From the swaddling cloth for a newborn to the shroud for the deceased, the handspun-handwoven has been omnipresent in Indian
life. In this installation, Khadi evokes two of its purest associations embedded in Indian sensibility. It appears as the rarest and most refined of all Indian hand-made cloth: a material of surpassing luxury. It also appears as a timeless Indian garment: unstitched, free-flowing, draped like water over skin. Embodying the highest value of craftsmanship, as well as the deepest purity of ritual, Khadi, in some ways, defines India.