And now, after so much subdued colour, something completely different: silk patolas spread for display at the manufacturer's, a small family-run business near Bhuj in north-western Gujarat. The information on the wall said these patolas take on average 10–15 days each to make. Each of the small dots forming the pattern was formed from a tiny wrinkle of cloth tightly wound by hand with cotton to prevent that part from absorbing the dye; we know it as "tie-and-dye" but here, where the art reaches its pinnacle, it's called bandhani ("BUND-a-nee") Even for a bloke like me, they were strikingly beautiful, but capturing the colours and sheen in a photo proved difficult, particularly in the dim indoors. However, the slow shutter speed did capture the movement as he spread them with a flourish.
[1/15 sec., f4, ISO 800]
All content © 2008 Pete McGregor
Oh my! How gorgeous. I want to pick one of these up and touch it to my face.
ReplyDeleteI think the movement of the cloth at the top of the photo really adds some thing to it.
Anne-Marie, the texture of these was beautiful. Actually, I felt reluctant to touch them without first washing my hands — as if a ritual cleansing should be undertaken first. I agree about the movement; often decisions like that are intuitive, but in this case it was quite deliberate. Other photos in the series lack the movement; they still have the lovely colours and textures but you're right — the movement adds something.
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