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SMALL TOWN SOLITUDE

Collaboration with "The Summer House" clothing 

This project was made with pre production textile waste to make quilted fabric through age old patchworking techniques, in collaboration with the women in my home town. 

This project was made in collaboration with the women in my community, enabling them to have a financial agency without having to compromise in their household responsibilities. I worked with the summer house clothing, a sustainable clothing brand to upcycle their pre production textile waste. This project looked at using textile waste to create a community driven project by upcycling the waste to create new fabric using traditional patchworking and quilting crafts with contemporary techniques.

The process started by making abstract illustrations from the poetry. The fabrics are sorted mostly by color and compositions, then grouped to make palettes that visually depicted the illustration and inspiration. Then I instinctively choose each fabric, then play around with the composition to form a collage in the shape of the illustration. Each piece is stitched together to form a yardage of fabric that is in the shape of the pattern. It is later layered with handwoven cotton fabric with a patched fabric made from waste again in between and finally hand quilted by the women in my community.

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Cinema, music, literature have been my biggest companions in my creative processes. A telugu(a language from the south of India) song  that my dad would sang to me growing up, inspired me for this collection. It reminds me of my significance and insignificance at once.
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The song "Aakulo aakunai" was originally a poem written by Devulapalli krishna sastry years before it was adapted as a song for the movie "meghasandesam".

ఆకులో ఆకునై పువ్వులో పువ్వునై
కొమ్మలో కొమ్మనై నును లేతరెమ్మనై
ఈ అడవి దాగిపోనా హా ఎటులైనా ఇచటనే ఆగిపోనా
ఆకులో ఆకునై పువ్వులో పువ్వునై
కొమ్మలో కొమ్మనై నును లేతరెమ్మనై
ఈ అడవి దాగిపోనా హా ఎటులైనా ఇచటనే ఆగిపోనా

గలగలనీ వీచు చిరుగాలిలో కెరటమై
గలగలనీ వీచు చిరుగాలిలో కెరటమై
జలజలనీ పారు సెల పాటలో తేటనై
పగడాల చిగురాకు తెరచాటు చేటినై
పరువంపు విడిచేడే చిన్నారి సిగ్గునై
ఈ అడవి దాగిపోనా హా ఎటులైనా ఇచటనే ఆగిపోనా
ఈ అడవి దాగిపోనా హా ఎటులైనా ఇచటనే ఆగిపోనా

తరులెక్కి ఎలనీలి గిరినెక్కి మెలమెల్ల
తరులెక్కి ఎలనీలి గిరినెక్కి మెలమెల్ల
చగలెక్కి జలదంపు నీలంపు నిగ్గునై
ఆకలా దాహమా చింతలా వంతలా
ఈ తరలీవెర్రినై ఏకతమా తిరుగాడ
ఈ అడవి దాగిపోనా హా ఎటులైనా ఇచటనే ఆగిపోనా
ఈ అడవి దాగిపోనా హా ఎటులైనా ఇచటనే ఆగిపోనా

ఆకులో ఆకునై పువ్వులో పువ్వునై
కొమ్మలో కొమ్మనై నును లేతరెమ్మనై
ఈ అడవి దాగిపోనా హా ఎటులైనా ఇచటనే ఆగిపోనా
ఎటులైనా ఇచటనే ఆగిపోనా

Can I become one among the leaves, branches and flowers and blend into this nature, and somehow conclude my journey here itself?

The sounds of wind crowning the breezes,
The sprint of the river spreading out, from the fountainhead

Shall I become the honeybee veiled behind the crimson-colored leaf? Can I become the bashful blush of the blossoming flower bud?

Can I climb the trees, and then slowly the clouds and reach the peak and become the blue blush on its face?

Can I forget the hunger, thirst, sadness and sorrows, all the troubles of the physical world, lose my existence and become part of this wilderness?

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