Thread, fabric and beads meld together to create tapestries of stories culled from personal experiences of hope and redemption. Dubbed Super Inday: Stitches and Stories Behind Bars, the art installation and exhibition features thick swathes of tapestry collage held together by a bold thematic crimson hue and intermingled with stitched objects fashioned in bright colors and meticulous patterns.
One of the striking features of this exhibition are the soft fabric sculptures that express a gentle ambiguity of the female silhouette, some anatomically incorrect. At closer look, the oversized dolls (that how lovingly I refer to them) seem to represent a state of consciousness that transcends the cold metal bars of a penitentiary. The mind and emotions cannot be chained and hence seek expression in handmade fabric avatars that represent unboundedness. This is when stories and emotions come to play and soft sculptures or art dolls as they are called are elevated to an almost spiritual, ethereal significance. To the untrained eye, the art dolls resemble Caribbean inspired shamanic voodoo dolls but to those who seek the story behind the fabric, the dolls are little alter egos created in whimsical, folklore inspired form. To create is to seek freedom, healing, and resilience both for self and others.
The women prisoners who are behind this inspiring art installation and exhibition to some degree have achieved a defining sense of self and empowerment and fabric is the avenue they choose to express their desire for liberation. Art sets one's spirit free.
Discover the stories behind the fabric. Get inspired by your inner Super Inday at the Hulot Gallery of Iloilo Museum of Contemporary Art.
Hulot Gallery at Iloilo Museum of Contemporary Art
Casa de Emperador, Iloilo Business Park
Mandurriao, Iloilo City
Gallery hours: Tuesdays to Sundays, 10 am to 5 pm
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