Shloka Coral Dhar
Displaced Kashmiri, born 1999
Boteh
2022
Projector, Mad Mapper, found video and images
Not owned by anyone
The paisley pattern, which is so widespread today, originated from Kashmiri shawls. The motifs came from Persian origin, and were used in traditional Kashmiri shawls. They were handmade and required years of weaving to create one shawl. For this reason, they were revered in the European market. However, the European market had a high demand that the weavers could not meet with their hands. The invention of the jacquard loom allowed Europeans to create Kashmiri shawls at a faster rate and lower price. The renaming of the pattern comes from the name of the town Paisley in Scotland. It was a hub for Kashmiri shawl production. However, the mass-production of Kashmiri shawls led to the destruction of the industry in Kashmir. Weavers went out of business, as they weren’t able to charge enough money for the time spent making the shawls. Additionally, the patterns and material were altered from traditional ones.
This piece uses projection mapping to place videos and images onto two laser-cut wooden panels. The panels are cut into traditional fabric patterns, with a negative relief and a positive relief. The images are sourced from modern paisley rug patterns as well as paintings of European models wearing Kashmiri shawls from history books. The videos consist of datamoshed colors and traditional Kashmiri weavers at work. The pixelation, distortion, and covering of the paisley patterns throughout the performance show their complicated history. They have been altered many times throughout the years. The disembodied nature of the work recalls the spread of the traditional pattern through different cultures and different hands.
