‘Play gets joy’ Collection of garments made by weavers from Karur around Madras Czech

At the first single exhibition of Dutch artist Paul Bemar’s first single exhibition, a site-specific wall hanging was found to stop and think of several visitors. The ‘painting’, created with strips of Madras check fabric, questioned him whether textiles could become. Game becomes happiness, happiness becomes work, work goes Last month, the Mumbai Gallery Weekend was shown in artisans during 2025 – there is a collection of textiles, which was all built around the Madras check by weavers from Karur in Tamil Nadu.

The Beaver, although formally trained in painting, abandoned a studio practice to find out their interest in non-Western clothes and textiles while traveling through Africa and Asia. Especially in India and Sri Lanka, he found that clothes appeared similar to abstract paintings.

Paul Bemar’s Game becomes happiness, happiness becomes work, work goes

“My attraction for Madras check brought me Karur. There, through a friend of mine who is also a weaver, I got a small scale Lungi The waveing ​​mill that was interested in experimenting, “he says, about his project, was named after a proverb by Swiss painter-designer Johannes Itten. He says that some details were replaced by the weavers. “Perhaps these details are lost in the translation.

Here, he speaks of cloth as both an art and craft:

Weavers are considered craftsmen, not artists, but when their work enters a gallery location, it gets a new honor and a lot of price. Why so?

The work is eventually made by my hand. I edit or cut the new compositions of the material that are sometimes made by craftsmen and sometimes only found. For example, I made compositions from the lining of Kimonos. It is this metamorphosis that replaces raw materials that you can call art.

Weaving is an expert and laborious activity, and I make no secret to the fact that I do not weave myself. I document the process of working together with the craftsmen and know the weavers by the name. They are my friends and colleagues, and thus, I try to focus [hopefully] For weaving crafts.

‘Craftsman is my friend and colleague’

You have traveled extensively in Asia and Africa to research clothes. Tell us about this process of research and how does it move towards the art you make?

When I set a new, and for me, for an unknown place, I want the encounter to be free from prejudice and expectations. My creative process is divided into a series of steps. The first phase is responding to a visible stimulation and some new viewing stimulation. A combination of colors, or design. In the next step, I like to find out how a piece is made, what is the material, but also research its history and meaning.

The final stage is how to get the same feeling, meaning and information in a new work without any copying. I snatch a piece of any symbolism. Nevertheless, in the end, because I always back back to European and American abstract paintings, a western -looking image emerges, but with unexpected techniques or colors that come somewhere else without a foreigner because it is a threat that I am I am careful

‘I snatch a piece of any symbolism’

Is there a hierarchy in visual art, where textile-based art is considered inferior or secondary in some ways?

I do not believe in hierarchy between art and crafts. A sari, woven basket, or a piece of pottery may be of an artistic value similar to a painting or sculpture. By decontting the material and finding new compositions, I try to create a new song for the material that I finally call a painting. Furthermore, they were stretched or spread, calling them painting, I try to attack and question this hierarchy because unfortunately the craft still does not pay attention to that she is really worthy.

How do you see color?

I believe that in many ways the colors affect us, their psychological influence and spiritual meaning. And yes, let’s talk. They communicate at a very deep level, under a layer, for which the words can hardly meet.

When you work with clothes, are you searching for the legacy or history of colonial business?

This is a very difficult question. I know what happened [colonial] The past and what is still happening in sweatshop in many countries. I only work with individual weavers who often become friends because we share a love for the craft of making clothes. Instead of focusing on the past, we focus on the future and take very little steps to prevent the craft from eating the business and by increasing the commercialization.

Is there anything that has attracted your attention in India during that time?

I did not know what to expect when I first traveled in India. The first thing I saw is how diverse the country is culturally and history is still very alive and remains with modern events. For example, I like how the artisans are not [yet] The outskirts of the cities were banished and became invisible like the West.

The author teaches at Flame University, Pune.