Exhibition & Museum Writing, No. ❷
June 1 – December 8, 2024
Sensory Silhouettes: Experiencing South Asian Garments
Aldrich Galleries, RISD Museum
Written with Kate Irvin and Joy Ko
Garments are meant to be worn and therefore felt. When they are presented behind glass in a museum, our experience is limited only to seeing them. In this collaboration between RISD’s Virtual Textiles Research Group (VTRG) and the RISD Museum’s Costume and Textiles Department, the textures, colors, and histories of South Asian textiles converge. Centering cultural associations, memories, and place-based details, we selected four garments in the museum’s collection for their distinctive sensory properties and richness of hand, as well as the stories of cultural exchange and collaboration embedded in their making. We encourage you to contemplate these historical textiles, consider the material modeling and garment simulation in the projected video, access audio narrations via the QR code, and gently touch the examples provided at the ends of the cases.
Reimagining the Museum Archive
As humans, we are wrapped in fabric from the day we are born, until the day we die. The experience of textiles arises from a visceral reaction to how fabrics indefinitely hold the body and dress the interior. What does it mean to sense a fabric without touching it? What does it mean to smell or taste a fabric?
In an attempt to problematize prescriptive methods of recordkeeping that assume fixed, static, and authoritarian definitions and theories of ex-planation, we propose a new way to archive and catalog the museum collection. This speculative sensory document gnaws at bridging the experiential lacunae between visitors and objects on display in museum galleries to enhance haptic literacy and invite immersion in cultural understandings and sensory experiences beyond what is often held in 75-word museum labels. How does this experience transcend what we predominantly perceive through the visual domain?
This work proposes a sensory, speculative alternative to the traditional archive. Four garments from the South Asian collections of the Museum of Art at Rhode Island School of Design were revisited and reimagined using phenomenological subjective first-person sensory data from creators, consumers, and researchers, coupled with conceptual experiments in machine learning software.
Research tools include OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Microsoft x Museum of Art and Photography’s INTERWOVEN.
Much of the emotional draw of textiles involves multiple senses, including the pleasures of wearing, touching, and smelling. The most intuitive way to allow an experience of textiles that bars touch itself comes from using descriptive texts. 'Textiles' and 'text' originated from the same Proto-Indo-European root 'tek.' Here, the text serves as a portal unbound by time and geography—to transport each viewer to places and spaces where these textiles were once woven, worn, and weathered.
These lyrical audio descriptions evoke sensory landscapes that animate and enrich the garments on view behind glass.
FABRIC No. ❶
Salvi makers (Patan, Gujarat, India)
Patolu Sari with Zari Border ca. 1875-1900
Silk plain weave, double ikat dyed; zari (metallic-wrapped silk yarn) border
Bequest of Miss Lucy T. Aldrich 55.292
The makers of this sari possessed tremendous skill, laboring at least eight months to complete it. Generations of weavers in the Salvi community in the western Indian city of Patan have passed down the double-ikat technique. In this process, both warp and weft yarns are dyed in specific patterns. As these dyed yarns are woven together, motifs emerge, resulting here in the sacred fig and leaf at center and nari-kunjar-popat-ful bhat (dancing girl-elephant-parrot-flower) in the border.
Often worn by the mother of the bride at weddings, saris like this one are kept as family heirlooms. They are traditionally believed to ward off evil and protect the wearer. Look closely to find areas of wear, including many small mended areas.
Weaving of Patolu saris on a handloom in Patan. Image Credit: Priti Bhatt via Architectural Digest IndiaResist dyeing the weft for the double ikat technique prior to weaving. Image Credit: Saurabh Chatterjee via FlickrSEEA highly pixelated grid of a digital image. A stylized graphic quality that resembles the continuous pattern of striations seen on a cross-section of red granite. The rays of sunlight that passes through a clear body of water. The field of undulating deep reds and cool blues, punctuated by a texture akin to the granular interior of an ivory tusk, exposed only by the gentle carvings along its length. The symphony of colors resembles a distant view of a mathematically precise mosaiced surface or a smudged, scratched aquarelle painting. A forgiving embrace when draped on the body. With each pleat of the sari, there is a distortion that creates an undistinguishable mass of vibrance activated by movement.
HEARA movement that sounds like a threaded symphony with a four-piece orchestra. The resonating sound of the ghatam played in alternating succession. The whispering rustle of the subterra-nean. Water trickling down step wells. The reverberating hum of the temple bell. The chants of the pandit within a stone temple. The distant call of a street vendor masked by chatter in a bustling town.
TOUCHSeems ridged like the surface of intricately carved wood but is the smooth, polished surface of matte ceramics. Watery to the touch; it slips between the fingers. A hazy fog, with only a mere illusion of its existence.
SMELLLingering floral and earthy aromas. Morning dew that carpets each blade of grass. Wet brick and damp stone walls. The musty whiff of the white bark of kala kikar after the first rain and the golden shower of amal-tas after a storm. The punchy fragrance of hand-squeezed ber sherbet in the arid north. The thorny gum sap of babul.
TASTERaw turmeric and dried pomegranate peels. Rich and spicy like biryani, with its aromatic rice, tender vegetables, and blended spices. Vibrant and sweet like aamras and puri, the sweet mango pulp and soft and greasy bread. Textured and earthy taste of dhokla with chutney with its spongy feel and tangy tamarind aftertaste.
FABRIC No. ❷
Possibly Khatri makers (Kutch or Saurashtra, Gujarat, India)
Bandhani Odhani (Head Scarf) 1900-1925
Silk gajji (satin weave); bandhani (tied and resist-dyed)
Bequest of Miss Lucy T. Aldrich 55.470
This woman's head covering features tree designs in the medallions in the main field and ornate green borders. It also includes dots tinted black to mimic the appearance of mirror embroidery. It was made using the bandhani technique, commonly practiced in the western Indian states of Gujarat and Rajasthan. In this process, parts of the textile are tied into knots with yarn to resist the absorption of the dye, resulting in spotted patterns. The finished fabric is highly textured and, in this case, lightweight and vibrantly colored.
Painting from East India Company School depicting a woman in a red Bandhani sari draped in the Gujarati style. Image Credit: Khamir OrganizationArtisans holding up a Bandhani fabric. Image Credit: Khamir OrganizationSEEThe deep gurgle of a dye bath-the striking smack of drenched fabric on a stone surface. A silver wind chime shifted by the faintest breeze at dawn. An echo of a distant sound reverberating in an enclosed cave. The faraway music of the bansuriwala (flute seller) on a winter Sunday morning. The staccato harmonium played by a novice. The high-pitched sa-re-ga-ma of a trained classi cal singer in a backway alley.
HEARInvisible drawstrings run through this bandhani. A mere whisper of the thread that once synched every inch of this fabric. A paradox-of appearing dangerous and thorny as a mere facade to conceal its inherent delica-cy-almost like a bougainvillea bush. Soft in its mountainous terrain. It is pointy and pokey but gentle. Speckled like the splatter of paint or a collection of ink blots on an undulating surface-as if the technique of chintz were to be applied to the fleeting rumbles of a summer breeze.
TOUCHThere is a sense of non-existence in its being. A breeze, when you run your fingers through the fabric. It doesn't exist beyond a ghost touch that disappears quick-ly. Yet, it is the topographical map of ant hills under calloused hands or medallions of terrains on old, saggy skin. Lychee skin on a powdery matte satin that dissolves when rubbed between the fingers. The echo of synched yarn is synes-thetic-both visual and tactile. It leaves the remnant of a refresh-ing, cooling chill, a lingering kiss from a long-lost lover.
SMELLWet earth but in a crisp way. The first day of summer, inaugurated by rain. Hints of jasmine and rose, peppered with a whiff of cardamom. A clean earthiness to the scent, mixed with rich, smoky incense that inundates ritual spaces and warm community gatherings.
TASTESilky and yet crunchy like jalebi. A slice of watermelon on a sultry summer day. Light, airy cotton candy and softie ice-creams at a mela. Surti undhiyu, with its mix of fresh vegetables, fenugreek dumplings, and subtle spices. Refined sweetness of mohanthal, with its fluffy mix of flour and ghee leaving a velvet aftertaste that melts in the mouth. Unfolds like a combination of honeyed nectar and the essence of blooming flowers that leave you yearning for just a bit more.
FABRIC No. ❸
Punjabi makers (pre-Partition India; present-day India or Pakistan)
Thirma Bagh Phulkari; Bagh Phulkari (Woman's Embroidered Shawl) 1875-1900
Chaunsa khaddar (handspun, handwoven cotton plain weave) with patt (silk-floss yarn) embroidery (darning stitch)
Georgianna Sayles Aldrich Fund 2011.45.7
Worn by women during sacred rituals connected to childbirth, death, and marriage, phulkari are characterized by embroidered geometric patterns representing the natural world. When embroidery completely covers the cloth, as here, it is called bagh (garden).
Thirma phulkaris were embroidered by Hindu and Sikh women using silk floss imported from Afghanistan, Bengal, and China. They applied this embellishment to a foundation of coarse, unbleached cotton (locally spun, woven, and dyed), which symbolized purity. Their craft was passed down over generations, with young girls beginning embroidering phulkaris for their dowries. In the political upheaval following the 1947 division of the Punjab region into India and Pakistan, phulkari traditions were largely discontinued.
Photograph of a Patiala Punjabi woman (Ilahijan Tawayif) in a Phulkari odhani, ca.1900. Image Credit: Photo India Heritage
SEEAn embroidered kaleidoscope. A patchworked surface, where each thread is a brushstroke on a raw canvas. The colors are fireworks against a night sky, the flames of a bonfire that illuminate an eclipsed darkness. An unruly, overgrown garden with swirling vines and blooming flowers that somehow remain within the confines of the architectural quadrants of the Mughal charbagh.
HEARPulsates like the reverberating beats of the dhol (a traditional Punjabi drum) at a winter wedding. Echoes like the laughter of women gathered around a communal loom, their voices intertwining like the threads they weave. The harmonious melody of folk songs sung under the starlit sky. Whispered tales of love and longing, carried by the gentle breeze rustling through mustard flower fields.
TOUCHA soft summer breeze over freshly plowed earth, rich and fertile, promising abundance and prosperi-ty. The embroidery, intricate and delicate, is akin to tracing the lines of a beloved's face in the darkness. It caresses the skin and leaves a velvety residue. To be wrapped in this shawl's cocoon is to be held by the warmth of a mother's embrace at dusk.
SMELLPunjab's fertile soil after the first monsoon rains, earthy and rejuvenat-ing. Blooming jasmine flowers, their sweet fragrance mingling with the spicy notes of freshly ground mas-a alas in the kitchen. Smokey air filled with traces of homemade butter that emanate from the steaming hot parathas (stuffed bread) that sizzle on the tava (stove).
TASTESweetness of ripe mangoes, dripping down your chin on a scorching summer day, like a burst of sunshine in each bite. Warmth of freshly brewed chai, swirling with spices and served in clay cups along the side of the road. Richness of butter chicken, the tender meat bathed in a creamy tomato gravy, served with fragrant basmati rice. The comfort of dal makhani, simmered for hours with buttery, creamy lentils, and aromatic spices.
FABRIC No. ❹
Chinese makers for Parsee community (Surat, India)
Akho Garo Sari ca. 1875-1900
Sali ghaj (silk) satin weave, embroidered
Bequest of Miss Lucy T. Aldrich 55.286
This embroidered silk sari depicting songbirds, trees, lotus flowers, and peacocks would have been worn by a wealthy Parsee woman, possibly for her wedding. Gara saris are associated with India's Parsee community-Zoroastrian religious exiles who fled Persia in the 700s to settle in west central India. As traders, the Parsees imported ornately embroidered Chinese silk satins that were made for the Indian market.
The word garo eventually became exclusively associated with Chinese embroidered saris. Parsee women wear gara saris in the traditional Gujarati manner: wrapped around the waist, with the pallu end brought from the back over the right shoulder. These garments are treasured as family heirlooms.
Photograph of five Parsee women in Gara saris. Image Credit: The Indian Express
SEERich red silk resembles the dancing embers of the eternal flame that has burned for centuries in the sacred fire temple in Udvada. The cream satin-silk thread, in the hallowed halls of the agiary. From the songbirds perched amidst gnarled trees, to lotus flowers blooming in vibrant hues, the intricate patterns are a tapestry of community heritage. The drape evokes images of the oceans the Zoroastrians crossed to escape their Persian persecutors.
HEARThe melodic, rhythmed chants of priests echoing through the halls of the agiary. The soft murmur of prayers. The distant clang of metal vessels and the lively chatter of bustling Irani cafes. It is both Mumbai's Bhendi Bazaar, filled with the calls of street vendors and the melodic strains of traditional Gujarati folk songs. Traces of chirping songbirds and the gentle rustling of leaves in the breeze.
TOUCHThe silk satin is a comforting embrace of a Parsi grandmother's hug, and the embroidery is the delicate pattern of a Parsi ran-goli at the threshold of a home. All together, it is the feeling of a gentle breeze grazing your face as you make your way through the crowded, narrow lanes of old Bombay in early winter.
SMELLThe scent of jasmine and rose, mingled with the earthy fragrance of natural woods in a lush garden with many groves, where the air is heavy with a natural floral perfume. The sweet fragrance of rosewater and cardamom punctuates the heavi-ness. Notes of cumin, coriander, and saffron mingle with the subtle scent of sandalwood incense arising from nearby kitchens. The lingering scent of Parsi chai and freshly baked bun maska (buttered bread) wafts on lazy afternoons.
TASTEHints of tangy vinegar and sweet jaggery. Hearty like dhansak, a stew made with lentils, vegetables, and meat. Warm and steamy like patra ni machi, fish filets marinated in a flavorful coconut and herb paste, wrapped in banana leaves. Flavors that linger on the tongue like the spice from the scrambled eggs in freshly prepared akuri, or the tang of the tomatoes in the tender lamb of sali boti.