‘Clothes don’t need saving’

Hanging on nearinvisible cables the benign kaftanlike silhouette titled Object 7D floats meditatively midair its flange hands ending in a cluster of tassels If this decontextualised ldquoobjectrdquo resembles a saree itrsquos because it is in fact a preowned Kanjeevaram Ikat silk sixyardThere is a lot happening here because the object probes the viewer although nobody is wearing it Its creator Kolkatabased Kallol Datta explains ldquoThe moment you donrsquot see it as a utility garment you need to bring in an emotional connection So for me therersquos a grotesqueness in this vulgarity and also serene beautyrdquoBacked by patterncutting tricks and a curatorial strategy Datta questions the prescribed notions of utility impressed upon the saree and the social concerns of privilege and gender as a binary Datta says that he never considers the human form its gender or sex while drafting a pattern ldquoOn the flipside Irsquom including all genders and sexes into my thoughtrdquo he laughs What remains then is the pronounced conversation around how certain native clothing practices like the saree have been historically used to reframe the notion of cultural sustainability or diversityThe show is open for public viewing from July 15 to September 23 in KolkataThe way Datta constructs a narrative around materialitymdashexalting them as builders of civilisationsmdashclothing becomes an imagined rebel on the fringes hitting back at the policing of our wardrobes and shattering tired stereotypes The addition of tassels we realise is deliberate and compels intended distortion ldquoClothing is political We know that aesthetics have played a role in resistance and thatrsquos why there is the ample use of tassels cords and loops in this showrdquo says the finalist of the 2021 Jameel Prize an international award for contemporary art and design inspired by Islamic traditionStarting July 15 visitors to the Experimenter gallery in Kolkata will find this and 15 other native clothing objects audaciously transformed into giant amorphous shapes for the Volume 3 Issue 2 show Although he describes himself as a clothesmaker itrsquos clear that Dattarsquos interest lies beyond tangible clothing say Experimenterrsquos founders Prateek and Priyanka Raja to midday in an email interview ldquoHis work explores the multiplicity of thought on sexuality and gender organism and form natural and artificial sustainability and reuserdquoPic courtesyRusha BoseStill Datta insists that he has no story to tell ldquoThis is me trying to figure out connections and links between various native clothing tapestries in SouthWest Asia North Africa the Indian subcontinent and the Korean peninsulardquo To wit how a haori from Japan is similar to the Korean hanbok thatrsquos in turn similar to the angarakha of India and Persiarsquos mantoFor this project Datta says he sourced old sarees either woven or purchased between 1945 and 1989 An online collection drive invited donations of preused sarees an exercise that has helped him know the region of origin and its community better The donated sarees arrived at Dattarsquos Kolkata address often accompanied by letters and family albums Kanta Jhangiani a donor from Mumbai sent an organdy saree and her note said she purchased an organdy saree on the first of every month She would then get it dyed and handblock printed ldquoIt became a monthly ritual of sorts until she stopped buying organdy sarees when the mills in Mumbai began to shut down The donated saree is symbolically linked to her personal history Even if she is not wearing it it exists in the folds of time as its own storyrdquo he explains He considers the brief time that he thought of himself as a ldquofashion designerrdquo as one when he churned out ldquoridiculous amounts of garmentsrdquo for retail stores ldquoThe fashion industry is its own albatross We are in the business of mindless production of stuff that ends up in the landfillsrdquo Datta argues adding that with this project he has reproduced not produced ldquoNewer forms emerged from the donated materials like the obi kimono hakama all native to Japan and the sarees from India The function of lsquoclothesrsquo changes then to not what clothes the body but a keeper of sacred tradition and anthropological evidencerdquoDatta says that the Kanjeevaram Ikat silk saree rechristened Object 7D was donated by Bengalurubased Surya Kumari Thodla She bought it from a Sambalpur weaver in the 1970s With gilded elongated lines in its weft that bloom into a voluminous silhouette it is an eloquent cultural and social metaphor that does not need a human vessel to justify its lineage ldquoItrsquos native to India but also comes with a lot of baggagerdquo Datta thinks referring to the unrelenting savethesaree rhetoric ldquoWe consumers give too much importance to ourselves we think we need to wear it to save it saree Clothes donrsquot need savingrdquo