Presented by Dior and curated by Asia Society India Centre, Mūḷ Māthī brings to life a special artistic collaboration between Maria Grazia Chiuri, Madhvi Parekh, Manu Parekh, Karishma Swali and the Chanakya School of Craft.
In 2021, the Chanakya School of Craft and the Chanakya Atelier collaborated with Dior for the commission of a series of monumental textile artworks by Madhvi and Manu Parekh, which were presented at the spring-summer 2022 haute-couture presentation in Paris. These works have been interpreted in craft by Karishma Swali and handcrafted by master artisans from the Chanakya Ateliers and female artisans from the Chanakya School of Craft, a non-profit school and foundation dedicated to craft, culture and creating new autonomy for women. Using natural pigments and through innovative design and techniques, the textiles are large-scale embroidered interpretations of Madhvi and Manu Parekh’s artworks.
As a postscript to the original project, these artworks will be presented in India for the first time, along with original artworks and archival material. The exhibition is an homage to the Parekhs, whose practices have a long-standing relationship with vernacular artistic traditions, an ode to the legacies of embroidery-work and textiles, and a critical reflection on modes of collaborative art-making.