Celebrating The Age of Design Syncretism, six designers and artists weave cultural narratives through immersive textile installations in ID Special Project, Syncretic Threads
As if under twilight, the exhibition opens to reveal textile artworks taking varied forms and casting quiet shadows. The visitor enters an obscure, reflective space where material, colour, and form shift between craft and art. Presented under ID Mumbai 2025’s Special Projects, Syncretic Threads embodies the curatorial theme, The Age of Design Syncretism, through installations that explore connection and continuity.
At the threshold stands a monolithic rug by Payal Bathija of Floor Art, hanging atop a refurbished wood cabinet by Mahendra Doshi. Titled Creative & Craftsmen, a large sheet of woven earth tones is paired with a darker twin, handcrafted in Nepal by the Tenzing family, whose Tibetan weaving tradition dates back to Mustang. Carrying both skill and lineage, the pieces are made from a variety of mulberry silk, linen, and banana fibre. Their quiet austerity speaks of restraint, while the coarse weave and geometric order reveal a dialogue between craft and modernism.
Further along, अनाड़ी (Anaadi) by duo Gunjan Arora and Rahul Jain of Threadarte, unfolds in two parts: one mounted on the wall, the other freestanding. The wall piece combines torn and dyed fragments that shift between abstraction and mapping, evoking eroded landscapes and fading memories. The freestanding work extends the idea through layers of wool, silk, cotton, and metallic yarns draped over a brass twig, where strength and fragility coexist. Together, they reflect on continuity and renewal.
In contrast to such abstraction, fashion designer Padma Yanchan of Namza Couture presents Threaded Echoes of the Silk Route, a rod-hung tapestry that introduces stillness and balance. Inspired by the Bok, the traditional Ladakhi cape symbolising identity and protection, the work reinterprets Himalayan and Central Asian motifs through a modern lens. Handwoven Gayser fabric with zari brocade and Banarasi weaving techniques forms its base, while embroidery and applique reference shared craft traditions. Fierce deity faces flank the composition as protective emblems, linking memory to migration and preservation.
Across the aisle, viewers encounter Anavila Misra’s People of Forest display, featuring hand-carved neem wood figures draped in handwoven and embroidered textiles. Their arrangement recalls processions and communal rituals, linking design to shared experience. Each figure, dressed in linen, jamdani, khadi silk, block-printed fabric, and tribal applique, reflects a balance between human and natural worlds. The work draws on a way of life where nature is a partner rather than a resource, extending the idea of design to include care, coexistence, and respect for the environment.
Artist Hansika Sharma’s As We Travel, As We Seek installation anchors the space as a pillar, reinterpreting nomadic shrines as studies of memory and ritual. The work examines movement as devotion, reflecting how ancestry and nature converge through tradition. Constructed from layered scraps of indigo, red, and gold fabric, the sculptural form stands as a contemporary shrine. Made with embroidered threadwork on handwoven cotton, linen, and silk dyed with natural pigments, it holds a raw, tactile presence.
Alas, with hypnotic spirit, Rimple and Harpreet Narula’s The Wheel of Transcendence commands attention with its circular form and metallic embroidery. The work translates the idea of architectural movement—both spatial and temporal—into a kinetic structure that acts as a facade and portal. Its disrupted symmetry questions perfection and order, while a field of crimson fabric with hand-stitched flowers in copper vases grounds the celestial in the everyday. The installation bridges ornament and structure, offering a contemporary interpretation of tradition, leaving viewers entranced.
Together, the installations form a clear language of continuity and change. Tradition is reinterpreted, materials are renewed, and boundaries between craft and design are deliberately blurred. The curation allows each work to stand independently while contributing to a shared conversation. In Syncretic Threads, textiles move beyond function to become tools of reflection. The exhibition examines how design in India continues to evolve through adaptation, collaboration, and cultural exchange.
Text by Tanvee Abhyankar
