Embroidered tapestries : Artist weaves traditional textile techniques into contemporary art

Exhibition of embroidered tapestries by Iram Zia goes on display

ISLAMABAD:

An exhibition featuring contemporary art pieces based on traditional textile techniques by one of the country’s finest artists went on display here in the capital.

The exhibition featuring embroidered tapestries “Embedded in the Weave” by Iram Zia went on display at the Satrang Art Gallery on Thursday.



Zia, who heads the Textiles Department at the prestigious National College of the Arts (NCA), Lahore has been applying the traditional techniques of textiles to create new and contemporary pieces of art for the past many years.

Satrang Art Gallery Director Asma Rashid Khan said that the choice of Iram’s coloured fabrics and threads almost seemed to substitute paint.

“She creates strong and complementary hues in her compositions,” she remarked.

“Iram’s art denotes, documents, and describes our aesthetics and delights of existence. Each work narrates a story of the rich traditions and multi-cultural society of this region,” Khan said.

The gallery director said that Iram sought to create a synthesis of past and the present, art and the craft, and in doing so, she sought to preserve an important segment of Pakistani heritage.

Iram, while speaking to The Express Tribune said that she did not have a particular inspiration.



“Everything I have studied or seen in my life, everything that comes naturally to me has influenced my art. I personally don’t think an artist can pin point their inspiration. I feel like everything they see influences their work and that’s what happens with me,” she said.

Iram further said that the reason why she choose textile was because she felt like celebrating the human hand in a world where there was a major shift towards digital art.

“There is immense beauty in the work of an artist’s hand. There is nothing quite like the beauty of that. Human hand creates and human hand errs,” she said.



Chief Guest Unesco Director Vibeke Jensen said that most exhibitions had one or two artworks that struck the eye but every work in the exhibition was intricate and eye-catching.

“The combination of textile and traditional embroidery using metallic and silver adds a very unique touch and texture,” she said, while congratulating Satrang Gallery for their efforts towards fostering art and culture in the country.

Iram said that her aim behind the work was to make sure artistic tradition breathes, broadens and breaks the boundaries of conventions.

The exhibition will continue till March 5, 2016.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 12^th,  2016.