Ajrakh Block Printing With Sufiyan Khatri

After many visits to India, to travel, work and to source textiles, I was drawn to Kutch for the wide variety of exquisite embroidery styles, eco-friendly block-printing and dyeing techniques, and the deep-rooted heritage of these textile traditions.

I was honoured to have a 1:1 workshop with Sufiyan Khatri, the tenth generation artisan of traditional Ajrakh block printing.

Sufiyan Khatri and Sara Lowes - Photo credit Sohail Wazir

Given time to explore some of the complex processes involved, I became more aware of, and attracted to, the beautiful layers of accidental marks, patterns and colour being created on the cotton undercloths - the ‘achadiya’ - which protect the tables. Having been re-cycled, re-used, washed and dried in the sun, they absorb the natural elements. Meanwhile, layers of impressions built up over weeks and months of block-printing capture irregular shapes and distorted motifs, and trace the shadow of the artisans’ movements.

Among these rich canvases of indigo and iron, subtle recognisable Ajrakh designs surface, though with an asymmetry quite distinct from the geometrical precision of true Ajrakh designs. A glimpse of a tree of life here, the subtle silhouette of a star there. I had a strong feeling that the fabric was telling me the story of the tradition itself through a new lens, and I was captivated.

New imagery began to emerge: dappled light on water; branches dancing in the wind; cascading blossom; an ancient mosaic. The depth of these fabrics had a poetic rhythm and each was a piece of art in itself.

Collaborating with Sufiyan on this concept further, we experimented with alternative fabrics, exposing them for various time frames, and capturing them at different stages of their transformation process.