EXHIBITION: SILK IKATS OF CENTRAL ASIA
- Author:
- Amelia G
- Posted:
- Monday, 13 July 2009
Enter the kaleidoscopic realm of rich amber, emerald green, royal blue, opulent purple, and deep fuchsia that is the Silk Ikats exhibition at the AGNSW.
With most pieces originating from Uzbekistan in the late 1880s, the intense colours have evidently lasted flawlessly, having been obtained from natural resources (yellow from saffron, black from pomegranate skin, red from crushed cochineal insects, and indigo from the indigo plant imported from India).
Exhibiting dress is always a challenge, because clothing is made to be worn on the body, rather than on static mannequins in a quiet, dimly lit room. While the robes in the show are exquisitely beautiful, some of the display is disappointingly ambiguous as to how the pieces are actually worn. It seems the emphasis is more on the textiles themselves and the mind-bogglingly complex dying, binding and weaving process behind the dress objects, rather than on how they were used.
If you rely on your imagination to picture the pieces worn amongst dramatic sand dunes or Islamic architecture you can be partly transported to the exotic context in which they belong.
Until October 11. AGNSW, The Domain. $5-8, 9225 1744 or artgallery.nsw.gov.au
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Story posted on Monday, 13 July 2009, filed under Exhibitions. Follow responses via the RSS feed.
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