Thesis display: Giving shape to feelings and emotions

BNU students display embroideries, furniture and interpret black.

LAHORE:

Functionality and design have been explored in the thesis work of graduating students of Beaconhouse National University’s (BNU) Department of Textile and Fibre Studies.

The thesis display that opened on Friday features work ranging from embroideries and furniture to symbolic interpretation of snow and black.

Zara Ali Raja’s work is about various connotations of black – from the fragility of a black rose to the strength and power associated with a black horse.

Through her work, titled Power is Black, she has tried to show how black has been interpreted over the years. Sometimes it is used to express the feelings of mourning and sorrow.

LAHORE

 

Raja says she sees a black horse as a symbol of revenge, power and rebellion. “My aim is to investigate how strength and fragility have been associated with black.”

She has used silk thread in embroidered panels of black and various shades of grey. She says it took her over a month to complete her work which also features fish and French knots.

She says the large dark embroidered panels are more of a statement than functional products reflecting a range of emotions with reference to Black Beauty – the fictional horse.

“A lot of emotion in my work comes from black. This is reflected in my panels,” Raja says.

Umair Umar has produced a portable interior station for his textile brand Mechnohumans.

Starting his thesis by exploring auto spares in Bilal Ganj, Umar says his aim was to connect the dots between human anatomy and cars. “My project incorporates design elements into a functional product that can be used as a portable solution in textiles.”

The portable interior station is covered with hand-quilted, hand-embroidered and stitched silk. The station showcases textile products from Umar’s own brand, including t-shirts, flip flops and shopping bags. Consisting of two trial rooms for clients, the station has a collapsible counter and a chair. Umar says although he plans to commercialise the product, he will first sell the prototype.

Wajiha Sarwar says she has tried to connect spirituality with snow using intricate gold and silver intricate panels reflecting microscopic patterns on snowflakes.

“I wanted to reflect upon the purity of snow and the beautiful intricate patterns of snowflakes for which I replicated their magnified forms onto textiles,” says Sarwar. “There is spirituality in everything. With snow, there is this transparency despite such intricacy within each flake. That is what I wanted to portray.”

Sarwar has used a wide range of materials from metal and wood to acrylic net, synthetic thread and crystal pipes in her panels.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 1^st, 2015.