Kantha

1989, The Bathroom Shelf, a hand sewn kantha quilt detailing bathroom objects. Collection of V&A, Museum, London.

Kantha quilts are made exclusively by women and traditionally they are created from recycled materials, often old sari cloth. My interest grew after a visit to the Woven Air exhibition at the Whitechapel Gallery in the late 1980’s. I began creating my own kanthas incorporating images of domestic objects that we take for granted and, like the women of Bengal, began recording stories and life in thread.

1994, Wash Day Blues. Collection of the Embroiderers Guild.
2016, Kantha workshop, Manchester Central Library
2005, Mum’s Are Heroes. Collection of the International Quilt Museum, Nebraska, USA.
2004-2024, Shoeshine. Collection of the Artist.

Some posts about my Kantha work