World Eco Fibre & Textile (WEFT) Art

WEFT explores the three dimensionality of textile art through installations and sculptural constructions, where contemporary textile artists are currently taking fibre sculpture into new areas. This extraordinary exhibition gives an insight into these current trends, showing how textile art can be considered as another genre of fine art. Exhibits include the work of contributing artists from over 35 countries the world over.

This rich exhibition highlights the manner in which traditional resist techniques such as ikat, tritik, shibori, yuzen and batik, together with the art of embellishment such as embroidery and quilting, are applied to contemporary textile art. The emphasis is on hand-woven and hand-made textiles, as opposed to the machine-made. Hand-made textiles display the skills of the designer and the producer and reflect a long history of artistic and cultural tradition.

The textiles themselves illustrate and display the use of natural yarns and dyes as a means of artistic expression. Natural fibres such as cotton, silk, ramie, abaca, pina, hemp and bark are employed. Colours which derive from natural dye materials such as plant roots, leaves, flowers, fruits, insects and molluscs are also part of this process. The use of natural mordents in the interaction of fixing colour to the cloth is also emphasised in this vibrant exhibition.

During this exhibition there will be demonstrations of textile production from different countries, starting with Malaysia in January, India in February and China in March.

WEFT is curated by Edric Ong and presented in association with Society Atelier Sarawak, Malaysia .

The Artists

• HIROYUKI SHINDO (JAPAN)- large installation pieces using natural ‘indigo’ dyes
• NARDA CAPUYAN (PHILIPPINES)- large natural fiber tapestries; ‘Songkat’ incorporating ikat and ‘songkit’weaving; woven leather textile
• OLIVIA BATCHELDER (U.S.A.) - Hand-painted silks
• LIZ WILLIAMSON (AUSTRALIA) - Hand-woven , textural art  including jacquards
• CHABATIK (THAILAND)- computer aided design double ikat in silk
• GONGADI (INDIA): Woolen blankets of shepherds in Hydearabad, Andhra Pradesh
• WEAVERS STUDIO (INDIA) - new Indian weaves
• MEECHAI TAESUJARIYA (THAILAND)- Natural dye hand woven silks from Isan and Surin, North East Thailand.
• MARIA DAVILA AND EDUARDO PORTILLO (VENEZUELA)-silk and other fiber textiles from the mountains in Merida, Venezuela.
• NOORJEHAN BILGRAMI (PAKISTAN) - natural dye hand woven textiles
• BINA RAO (INDIA)- Creative hand loom textiles
• KARAMA AK DAMPA (MALAYSIA)- Cotton  Iban ‘Pua-Kumbu’ warp ikat weaving
• BANGIE AK EMBOL (MALAYSIA)- Silk “Pua Kumbu’ warp ikat weaving
• NANCY AK NGALI (MALAYSIA)- Silk ‘Pua Kumbu’ warp ikat weaving
• MULA AK JAMA (MALAYSIA) –Silk ‘Pua Kumbu’ warp ikat weaving
• MILIN AK MAT (MALAYSIA)- Silk ‘Pua Kumbu’ warp ikat weaving
• ARANYA (BANGLADESH)- Specially designed ‘Jamdhani’ style textiles in natural dyes.
• KOTPAD WEAVERS COOPERATIVE SOCIETY OF ORRISSA (INDIA)- Bastar natural dye cotton textiles
• PHAENG-MAI (LAOS)- Silk weavings.
• BHUTANESE WEAVERS: Textiles from the UNDP Project
• KIKUO MORIMOTO (CAMBODIA) - Handwoven natural dye and hand-painted silks
• TANOTI SONGKIT (MALAYSIA) – ‘Kain Songket’ textiles
• MAE TEETA (THAILAND) - Natural Indigo dye ‘mudmee’ ikat textiles
• TAJ-KHAZANAH (INDIA) - ‘Benares’ silk textiles
• MYANMAR- Kalaga embroidery panels; ‘sazigyo’ ribbons tablet weaving
• IRAN- Hand-block printed cotton and Semiron felt
• NEPAL- Hand-woven ceremonial brocade and cotton textile
• VIETNAM- Hand-woven borders of skirts
• BRUNEI- ‘Kain Songkit’ textile
• CRAFTS COUNCIL OF INDIA- Nettle weaving, tussar patta painting, Harijan Mithila painting, Gold/cotton jamdhani, block printed cottons
• PHILIPPINES- Tapestry weaves Muslim Textiles from Zamboanga
• PHILIPPINES- ‘Tinalag’ abaca textiles of Mindanao.
• CHILE- Natural colour woven wool
• CHINA- Ceremonial cloth, Old silk robes
• RASUL (UZBEKISTAN)- Silk ikat textiles
• KESHAV RAO (INDIA)- Natural dye paintings, wood-block printed natural dye panels and ‘Kalamkat’ wood block prints on ikat textiles.
• ACHMAD SOPANDI (INDONESIA)- Hand-painted textiles using ‘stone-age’ technique of ‘hematite’ soil
• MICHAEL LIM (MALAYSIA)- ‘Batikat’ paintings ie batik painting on ikat textiles
• CHINTHAKA RATNAYAKE(SRI LANKA)- Fully waxed Batik on silk
• EVA WANGANEEN (AUSTRALIA) – Aboriginal motif painted silks
• WIRO KUTO (INDONESIA)- Natural dye batiks
• ASMORO DAMAIS (INDONESIA) –Old Indonesian batik designs reinterpreted
• NARONG DAUN (MALAYSIA)- Hand painted silk textiles.
• WINNIE WONG (MALAYSIA)- Hand-painted silk batik
• SUTRA (INDIA)- Natural dye textile paintings on cotton
• KHATRI M.S.(INDIA)- ‘Ajarakh’ hand block printed cotton
• MATTHEW NGAU JAU (MALAYSIA) – Orang Ulu bark cloth paintings
• RAMSAY ONG (MALAYSIA)- Bark cloth and hand-made paper collage
• LUCY ABEY (MALAYSIA)- Embroidery on bark cloth
• EDRIC ONG (MALAYSIA)- Natural dye art pieces specially designed for the exhibition
• DOBAG KILIMS (TURKEY): Natural dye hand woven kilims from the renown villagers under the Marmara University project.
• MEHMET GIRGIC (TURKEY) –natural dye wool felt tapestry
• Al SADU WEAVING CO OPERATIVE, KUWAIT - Runner in cotton and wool by Abab Farhan Al Azmy (Um Nasser) 1994
• DINARA CHOCHUNBAEVA (KYRGYZSTAN)- Felt tapestries
• BANI HAMIDA (JORDAN)- Woollen rug
• MONGOLIA- Woollen felt rugs
• KUMUDINI (BANGLADESH)- Embroidered ‘kantha’silk textiles from women’s cooperatives.
• DASTKAR (INDIA)- Large hand-embroidered tapestries done by communities of women from the earthquake-struck regions of Bhuj, Gujarat
• BASHIR JAIN/FIRDOSE JAIN-Hand-embroidered Pashmina, silk and wool from Kashmir.
• YUNNAN (CHINA)- indigo textiles and embroideries from Miao people
• CACSA- Embroideries and felt textiles from Central Asia
• AFRICA- Applique hemp patchwork textile
• MAHILA HARIT KALA (INDIA)- Natural dye silk patchwork
• UZBEKISTAN- Suzani using Bokhara couching embroidery
• THAILAND-  Hmong patchwork on indigo batik cotton.
• KIM JI-HEE (KOREA)- large installation pieces using traditional Korean natural textiles with natural dyes.
• MIYOKO KAWAHITO (JAPAN)- Natural ‘Awa’indigo dye textiles
• TATA TEA PLANTATION CHILDREN (MUNNAR, INDIA)- A group of handicapped children’s textile artwork with‘waste-tea leaves’ dye using batik/shibori .
• CHINA ARTS AND CRAFTS ASSOCIATION- ‘Hsiang yun sha’ mud silks
• MURA COLLECTIVE (INDIA)- Natural dye silk ‘shibori’
• INDONESIA- ‘tritik’  tie-dye silks
• ASIF SHAIKH (INDIA): Embroideries of Gujarat
• CHEN CHING LIN (TAIWAN): Natural dye silks
• TANG WEN CHUN (TAIWAN): Indigo Batik
• CHEN WAN LEE (TAIWAN): Recycled textile costumes
• RURUNGAN SA TUBOD (PHILIPPINES)- "pina" pineapple fiber weavings
• SUSAN FELL- MCLEAN (AUSTRALIA): Eucalyptus leaf-dyed textiles
• SUZHOU ART INSTITUTE (CHINA): Double faced embroidery art
• AIZHAN BEKKULOVA (KAZAKHSTAN): Felt art
• HISAKO SUMI (JAPAN):  Japanese purple dyed textiles
• MALAY (TAIWAN): Crochet jewelry
• TUN JUGAH FOUNDATION: Iban ‘Pua-sungkit’ Textiles of Sarawa

Contact email: gallery@soas.ac.uk