Delhi: Phulkari exhibition shows embroidery’s reverse at IIC

The first phulkari textile in Sunaina Suneja’s exhibition is hung backwards. At the India International Centre’s Art Gallery, visitors see its reverse: the stitches, loose threads and working surface usually concealed by the finished embroidery.

*Phulkari: A Lingering Presence* brings together vintage textiles from Suneja’s collection with contemporary works. Suneja, a textile designer, began working with women in villages around Nabha in 2008 on a project intended to create income. She found that many were using traced or printed designs rather than counting threads directly on the fabric, an older method of making phulkari.

The exhibition examines the craft through borders, central panels and motifs including chand bagh, pachranga, darshan dwāra and sona chandni. One unfinished piece maps its own making, showing where the embroiderer began, which areas were later filled and where the work stopped.

The exhibition is on view until October 1 at the Art Gallery, Kamaladevi Complex, India International Centre, 40 Max Mueller Marg, New Delhi. It is open daily from 11am to 7pm.