The Whitworth in Manchester presents Entangled and Woven, a textile exhibition that celebrates the skill of countless artisans, craftspeople, and weavers. One piece, Entangled Memories, Interwoven Stories by Péro, required 50 artisans and 18,000 hours to complete. The exhibition spans three galleries, each filled with fabrics that range from airy and ethereal to weighty and deep indigo.
A True Cultural Exchange
What elevates this show is its authentic cultural exchange. Artists from Korea and India met in person, visited each other's countries, and created new works in response. The Whitworth's collection of 20,000 textiles includes historic Indian and Korean pieces dating back to the 18th century, placed to mirror or educate on technique.
Gilded Veil and Collaborative Works
In the first gallery, Jounghye Yoo's Gilded Veil_A Mysterious Curtain Lightly Draped in Gold hangs from a wooden frame, fading from indigo to red to gold. Inspired by the Kashi Vishwanath Temple, it was made with Dr Ismail Mohammad Khatri and his son Juned Ismail, blending ajrakh block printing and Korean embroidery.
In the next gallery, Somi Ko, Young In Hong, and Péro explore weight, fragmentation, and mirrors. Somi Ko's People of One, Moment uses traditional Indian mirror work on cotton. Young In Hong's Sacred Empires flags, made with Kala Raksha, incorporate mirrors believed to ward off evil spirits.
Spiritual and Ethereal Works
The third gallery features Kaimurai, Sumakshi Singh, and Yeonsoon Chang. Singh's Spanning the Void is an embroidered bridge on water-soluble fabric, leaving a delicate thread web. Kaimurai's stepped khadi sheets rise toward the spiritual realm, while Chang's indigo-dyed structures reflect the Buddhist concept of Worincheongang, "the moon reflected on a thousand rivers."
A mythical creature by Boito, made from materials across Odisha, symbolizes the fusion of cultures. Hyundai Translocal Series: Entangled and Woven is at the Whitworth, Manchester until 3 January 2027.
