CHENNAI: Travelling Patterns is an exhibition at DakshinaChitra Museum, presented in collaboration with Goethe-Institut and Tara Books. The exhibition runs until January 21 at Varija Art Gallery, DakshinaChitra Museum, and features the works of four artists - Aditi Jain, Henning Wagenbreth, Verena Gerlach, and Ruchi Shah.

The exhibition is the result of a project initiated by Goethe-Institut, bringing together two contemporary artists from India and two from Germany to Chennai in November 2022.

Two workshops were conducted in November and December 2022 - during these workshops, the artists were introduced to the motifs, designs, and patterns created by the Kalamkari block makers of Machilipatnam. The focus was on exploring the historical context and journey of the textile art.

Curated by Prarthana Karthikeyan, the exhibition showcases the artists’ works along with Kalamkari prints and blocks from the DakshinaChitra Collection. Prarthana, the curator, describes the exhibition space as designed to manifest visual exuberance for art enthusiasts, the public, and educational entities.

“The space includes interactive activities, displays of Kalamkari textiles from the DakshinaChitra museum’s collection, primary tools such as ‘blocks’ used in the traditional Kalamkari process, photographic prints of chintz, and a presentation of history.

These elements provide an opportunity to delve into the artist’s work and help understand that everything created is an extension of what came before, emphasising that art is a perpetual creative endeavour,” Prarthana stated.