COME, LET ME HEAL YOUR WOUNDS

2019

In this work titled, Come, let me heal your wounds. Let me mend your broken bones, as we stand here mourning, two major themes characterise this work: sustainability and cultural destruction. Natural herbs and spices have long been used for their medicinal qualities in South Asian and Arab cultures, and it is in Kerala where the fabrics in this artwork were made. The entire production process has sought to be ecologically and ethically conscientious; in doing so, it also becomes an act of resistance against the legacy of colonialism. As occupiers in India, the British were keen on industrialisation – the artist rejects this damaging legacy by working directly with the handloom industry. 

About 50 herbs and spices – each with cultural references – were used to create these textiles, which not only encapsulate age-old knowledge, but also deem them healing cloths. Awartani first creates tears and holes in the fabric, in the locations where cultural destruction was committed by Islamic fundamentalist groups since the start of what is known as the Arab Spring in seven Arab nations – Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, Libya, Iraq, Egypt and Yemen. She then repairs all 355  holes through the process of darning. 

There is no geographic correspondence to each panel; rather, together they are borderless representation of annihilated cultural heritage. In the face of ongoing destruction as well as polluting effects of big industries, the work is both a plea to safeguard ancient civilisation in the Arab world as well as a bid to recall and rejoice in the collective history of artisanship, the knowledge of healing plants, and the venerable tradition of repairing and revering objects.

Come, let me heal your wounds. Let me mend your broken bones, as we stand here mourning, 2019, Darning on medicinally dyed silk, 630 cm x 720 cm x 300 cm. © Dana Awartani