Cultivating Crafts: Exhibition of Tapestries depict Scottish and Chitrali stories
ISLAMABAD – An inspiring textile exhibition of tapestries has connected Pakistan’s Chitral region with Scotland’s Outer Hebrides in an exceptional and surprising way.
The exhibition displaying tapestries from Pakistan, inspired by the Scottish Western Isles, opened here in Islamabad at the Nomad Art Gallery on Friday.
H.E. Hiroshi Inomata, Ambassador of Japan to Pakistan, graced the opening of the exhibit and was delighted to see the work of artists.
The vibrant expo showcases an exclusive line of hand-embroidered tweed zip clutches, totes, scarves, cushions and many other items.
Textiles explore cultural similarities between Pakistan and Scotland
The exhibition features collaboration between weavers in the Outer Hebrides and embroiderers in Chitral, interpreting stories of their communities through illustrated narratives. The inspiring textiles explore cultural similarities between the two regions.
A series of contemporary hand-loomed embroidered textiles incorporates Pakistani narratives illustrated on Harris Tweed as well as Scottish narratives on Chitrali calico.
The tapestries depict the uniqueness of life in the Outer Hebrides and Chitral Valley. The idea is to preserve some ancient traditions that might otherwise slowly disappear.
The pieces are illustrated and embellished by female artisans from Chitral. This project encourages the women to be creative designers and gives them the space to tell their stories in their own words and drawings; interpreting the life of both communities.
Twilling Tweeds and Hunarmand Hoost (Skilled Hands) have organized the exhibit at Nomad Art Gallery in that runs from 16th May 2015 till 6th June 2015.
Art Exhibition create a cultural between two far-off communities, Chitral and Outer Hebrides
Twilling Tweeds is a cross-cultural initiative set up by Scottish Pakistani designer Adil Iqbal. The project connects the weavers of the Outer Hebrides, Scotland, with female embroiderers of Chitral, North West Frontier of Pakistan.
“My aim when creating this collection was to connect textile workers in remote areas of Pakistan with those in the Outer Hebrides, creating a bridge between communities and promoting a cultural awareness between the two countries ’ says Adil Iqbal.
Vibrant colours have been mostly used in the weavings. Some of the hangings also feature calligraphy in Urdu while others featured English poems. The tapestries were further used to give out social messages including that dowry by weaving titled “Chitrali Dowry,” made by SherieGul, on one of them.
“What I find absolutely unique and inspiring is not just the fact that the collection merges two very different cultures but I find the storytelling very personal,” said Nageen Hayat, the director of Nomad Art Gallery.
With this unique collection, Twilling Tweeds has connected textile workers in remote areas of Pakistan with those in the Outer Hebrides in Scotland, creating a bridge between two far-off communities and stimulating a cultural awareness between Pakistan and Scotland.
“I have always been torn between two places and I decided to blend stories from Scotland with those of Chitral,” he said.
