weave

Weaving baskets in abstract space guided by the hand of a master craftsman.

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This is work from a project done with Babar Sheikh in 2021. We wanted to capture and abstract some aspects of the local basket weaving tradition which we found especially meaningful.

cred. Babar Sheikh

• Basket weaving is one of the widest spread and oldest crafts in the history of human civilization. Baskets have been found which date back over 12,000 years. And the local basket weaving craft has been passed down, master to apprentice, through countless generations.
• The traditional Balochi baskets are woven with peesh (dried drawf palm leaves). It is fascinating how the fibers of plant actually dictate the pattern of the weave. The grain of the fibers only allow the peesh to be bent in certain directions; in a poetic way the DNA of the plant also encodes the form of the basket. Peesh is also woven into ropes, brooms, sandals, parasols, beds, and mats.
• In an effort to maintain a faithful connection to the craft, the dynamics of the visuals derive deeply from the process of weaving. After exploring a few techniques we settled on using sound as the conduit between the physical motions of the craftsman and the visuals. We recorded the sound for each motion of the craftsman and developed an ‘audio signature’ which was used to guide the seemingly random dynamics of the artwork.
• The craftsmen often get visually impaired working in poor lighting for decades, but their hands carry on the work all the same (this is why the final composition is so dark). The craftsman becomes so adept that his hands seem to operate autonomously. Further, imagine sitting in the same position everyday for hours doing a very repetitive motion, it is almost as if the craftsman is meditating and into a deep trance. Doing that every day for a lifetime is probably one way to attain nirvana.
• We also took inspiration from the words of the master craftsman we studied. In particular we explored the concepts of Rozi (livelihood) and Barkat (wholesome value). The craftsman spoke about how a man who works honestly with his hands will never be poor. About how it is possible to squander inherited wealth, but it is impossible to squander the wealth of your hands.