Social Fabric: Iniva at Rivington Place
A fascinating new exhibition that documents the history of the textile trade between Britain and India.
Thu 19th January 2012, 11:00am – Sat 10th March 2012, 06:00pm
Iniva (Institute of International Visual Arts)
Category: Earth
Detail of work by Alice Creisher.
Starting on the 19th January from Iniva at Rivington Place – an intriguing new exhibition from the same people who brought you NS Harsha and Chen Chieh.
Lower Parel by Sudhir Patwardhan 2011.
Social Fabric explores the history of the textile industry and the relationship between Britain and India looking at the social and economic impact of the industry during the colonial period. It also has a local East London connection as well, as the craze for Indian Chintz was the reason for protest amount the weavers of Spitalfields in the 1700s. The show centres around a stunning large-scale contemporary installation by artist Alice Creisher and a painting by Indian artist Sudhir Patwardhan displayed alongside lots of historical and contemporary archive materials including Company Paintings loaned from the V&A, Indian Chintz fabrics, original journals from Marx, films, photographs, newspaper articles and recordings of mill workers’ testimonies.
There is an extended programme of talks and events running alongside the exhibition, including a symposium on textiles; and workshops with activist and writer Meena Menon. Social Fabric is curated by Grant Watson, in collaboration with Christine Checinska, Nida Ghouse, Shanay Jhaveri, Nada Raza and Karen Roswell. Check the Iniva website for info.
Rivington Place public opening hours:
Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday: 11am – 6pm
Late Thursdays: 11am – 9pm (last admission 8.30pm)
Saturday: 12noon – 6pm
Admission: free