Turning faces and emotions into art on quilts

The exhibition is under way at Sankara Hall on TTK Road, Chennai

Sixty-five-year-old Nandini Harikrishnan, former director of pharmacology in Madras Medical College, started learning the basics of quilting in 2017. Just a day before the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, she finished learning a new technique and became quite proficient in quilting.

“Quilting helped me cope with stress and gave me hope during those stressful times. In two years, I have turned into a quilter and created nearly 5-6 of them and derived so much joy out of it,” she says. Today, she has kept on display one of her pieces at ‘The Many Faces: A theme-based exhibition of Art Quilts’ in the city curated by Quilt India Foundation. This features a collection of quilts made by artists during the India International Quilt Festivals in 2019 and 2020.

Varsha Sundararajan, one of the founders of Quilt India Foundation, says that from MeToo movement to migration of people during the pandemic-induced lockdowns to portraits of common man, this exhibit brings to fore the face of people and a reflection of their soul. “People usually think quilt is just a craft with a utility value. But we are taking the concept of a quilt to the next level of fine art. If you look at these pieces, these are fine textile art. Everyone of them is a different way of representing a face and it is art that holds your attention and touches your emotions.”

The idea is to raise the bar of a quilt from being something of a utility value to start looking at quilts as fine textile art and include this in the gamut of art, she says. Like Ms. Harikrishnan, many people took to quilting during the pandemic, looking at it as a different outlet to see life differently, she adds.

Chitra Mandanna, a textile artist, has beautifully recreated a flower seller in a 48X36 inch quilt. “When my daughter and I walked along Thiruvanmiyur, we noticed a flower seller, Anjale. My daughter casually went to her and started picking up some flowers she liked. After she was done with it, when I paid cash, Anjale refused to take it. Often, we all end up haggling with such people, negotiating with them to bring the price down. But her act of generosity and kindness touched me deeply,” she says. That quilt won Judge’s Choice and Visitor’s Choice Award in the U.K. and the first place in India International Quilt Festival 2021.

Aiswarya Rao, a paediatrician, a disability rights activist and the founder of Better World Shelter for Women with Disabilities, says she has been teaching the art of quilting to homeless women with disabilities. “From stitching a blouse to making a quilt, we have been teaching them everything and many of them are finding it helpful and have now turned into entrepreneurs too,” she says.

The exhibition, under way at Sri Sankara Hall on TTK Road, will be open till April 11. Also, the third edition of India International Quilt Festival will be held from Jan. 20-23 in 2023 and the competition segment will be put up on their website www.indiaquiltfestival.com soon.