Untitled I – VIII

Nai comes from a family of textile artisans and he frequently uses discarded clothes, compressed together to create minimalist geometric forms. The work uses old discarded clothing that Nai collected from his mother and other relatives. He compresses the clothing in a mould using heat to keep them consistent in shape. The versatile nature of fabric is altered as the clothing is moulded into a series of slender poles. In doing so, the garments lose their unique associations with individuals and become part of homogenised forms.

In this work, the poles unravel at the base, laying bare the poetics of the work’s coming into being. The use of old clothes as well as their literal compression points toward ideas of saving space, and recycling, promoting ideas of sustainability. Displayed within a frame, the work is placed as an architectural barricade in the passage, treading the line between painting and sculpture.

The work was featured as part of the exhibition 'Connecting Threads: Textiles in Contemporary Practice'. The exhibition was curated by Tasneem Zakaria Mehta and Puja Vaish and attempts to trace textile practices, traditions and histories in Contemporary Indian Art.