Border Traditions

Borders have been a defining feature of Indian visual and material culture for centuries, enduring legacy in the domains of architecture,textiles, and the decorative arts.The Border Traditions seeks to archive and acknowledge the pervasive use of borders—found on everything from textiles to architecture—and highlights their gradual disappearance in favor of minimalism, a shift driven by the globalized preference for plains, flats, and solids. This transformation underscores a pressing need to preserve and reinterpret the rich visual language of borders before they fade from collective memory.

The visuals within The Border Traditions narrate fleeting memories, drawing inspiration from motifs and symbols observed during travels to India’s historical landmarks and cultural sites. These memories are intertwined with impressions of the surrounding flora and fauna, reimagined and contextualized through objects encountered in everyday life. The bel motif, for instance, is reinterpreted using common household items that are visually striking, blending the tangible beauty of the past with the present. This amalgamation of historical and contemporary influences redefines borders as a synthesis of elements—objects, motifs, and symbols that resonate with the Indian ethos while remaining relevant to present times.

In its essence, The Border Traditions interrogates the enduring dichotomy between high art and craft, recontextualizing borders as art forms that retain functionality. The project situates borders in the liminal space where the aesthetic and the utilitarian coexist, echoing India’s artistic traditions that have always blurred the lines between these categories. The borders oscillate between familiarity and novelty, inviting the viewer to simultaneously recall and rediscover the cultural lexicon of Indian urban kitsch and ornamentation.The Border Traditions is ultimately a dialogue between past and present, art and craft, the known and the unknown.

Exhibition History

Screen Printing Residency I Pulp Society I 2021

Rooted I Terrain.art I 2023

Collective Impact: Diverse Perspectives I Curated by Prayag Chakradhar I Exhibit320 I 2023