Project Description

Through Aisha Khalid’s labour-intensive process of inserting pins through a layer
of two shawls, Kashmiri Shawl inspires contradictory responses. On one side, the
heavily worked paisley and floral design offers a scene of luxurious detail. The
backside tells a different story – staggered and unbound by the pin’s head, sharp tips
protrude from the red wool to reveal a hazardous surface. The work draws attention
to what Khalid views as a disparity between the global consumption of shawls from
this region and the lack of attention placed on its geopolitical realities.

April 2011