History of Indian textiles explored in Wolverhampton exhibition - in photo
Ethical trade and the history of Indian textiles is explored as part of a new exhibition at Wolverhampton Art Gallery.
Twenty pieces of art, including those recently featured on the BBC's Civilisations stories: The Empire are part of the display.
The showcase is titled as 'Slaves of Fashion: New Works by The Singh Twins'.
Amrit and Rubindra, also known as The Singh Twins, are behind the exhibition which portrays a new direction for the artists, combining their well-known traditional hand-painted techniques with digitally created imagery.
Eleven of the pieces feature life-sized portraits of historical figures on backgrounds packed with symbolic detail.
Each one highlights a different theme relating to the global story of trade in Indian textiles.
One of these, named 'Cotton: Threads of Change', depicts key social, political, economic, technological and cultural changes linked to the story of cotton.
The remaining nine pieces are on paper and explore how historical narratives connect to current debates around ethical trade.
These include satirical portraits of Theresa May, Angela Merkel and Donald Trump.
Also on display will be original drawings and painted works, time lapse videos and historical prints from The Singh Twins' personal archive.
Marguerite Nugent, Wolverhampton Art Gallery Manager for Arts and Culture, said, ‘The Singh Twins have a well-deserved international reputation and we are delighted to have the opportunity to show their latest work in the City of Wolverhampton.
“It has been an exciting collaboration with The Singh Twins, National Museums Liverpool and Creative Black Country to work together and make this exhibition possible for locals, residents and other visitors to see.”
The Singh Twins said: “A key aim of Slaves of Fashion is to reveal how historical trade practices, linked to colonialism, conflict and enslavement which are looked back on as unethical today, actually still continue.
“In relation to current debates around fair trade and sustainable consumerism the artworks highlight how we as consumers are all part of the problem but also the solution, since we have the power to effect positive change through the choices we make.”
The exhibition runs at Wolverhampton Art Gallery until Sunday, September 16.
The exhibition also offers an augmented reality app, enabling visitors to interact with one of the artworks in detail through their mobile.
The app, titled 'Singh Twins: Art in Motion' is available for free download on IOS and Android app stores.
