Drawn With Thread-Art Exhibition

Drawn With Thread by Gopika Nath

Everyday she excavated herself
Uncovering the lies of yesterday
In search of that sacred space...

Drawn with thread is evocative of the harmonious state of being referred to as 'that sacred space'. Narrating the vast emotions, tempos, fleeting moments and memories which fuel the rhythm of a graceful dancer- perceive all that the body says which words cannot.

Gopika Nath started working from drawings fifteen years ago. However watching dance performances stirred another creative being in this artist. Sitting in the darkness, unable to see either paper or pencil, she instead witnessed something surreal. As Gopika Nath says "I drew not what I could see but what I felt; sometimes just letting the music and footsteps guide me. I got into the mode of dance; focussing on its transient but flowing essence". Dance in this context is not entertainment rather a journey into the spirit of being, traversing contemplation, discovery and observation of the mind at work and play. Where, in excavating oneself, we discover our very own sacred space.

Thus, the emotion & movement of dance has been extended to encompass the physicality of working with needle and thread. Simply, the movement of fingers as they embroider fabrics suggests the rhythm of the choreography rooted in the Indian tradition of hand- crafting. An art that has sadly been confined to rural areas for too long already- breaching this habitual gaffe of the past few decades, Gopika returns to tradition, re- invoking the ancient, stepping back to move ahead. Presenting 'Textile as Art', she resurrects the notion of craft where the ancient ideal of the craftsman, performing the dual role of defining the concept with the appropriate skill in the art of making, manifests in a contemporary vein.