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Cut from the Same Cloth

Bikaner House, New Delhi presented by Gallerie Nvya

2023

Cut from the Same Cloth

Cut From the Same Cloth
2023

Cut From the Same Cloth was initiated as a universal odyssey dedicated to exploring the self and its relationship with the spiritual cosmos. In this body of work, Seema Kohli enquired into the limits of her own art practice by constantly blurring the boundaries between myth and reality, self and the other.

For Kohli, art, life, and sharing truly intersected, and her practice spilled across the canvas of her entire life. As a contemporary artist, she studied the ancient myths and figures of India, exploring in them interwoven themes of beauty, sensuality, and spirituality. Through constant experimentation with various art mediums, she created her own narrative amalgamations of these subject matters.

Cut from the Same Cloth
Cut from the Same Cloth
Cut from the Same Cloth
Cut from the Same Cloth
Cut from the Same Cloth
Cut from the Same Cloth

Her work primarily celebrated the female form and Shakti — the feminine cosmic energy that is the source of all powers of creation and destruction. Engaging with a wide circuit of references such as religious iconography, world mythology, philosophy, and literature, Kohli wove together a story to recover the lost feminine narrative in cultural history. Through the visual language of art, she sought to grasp and materialise the metaphysical truth of existence and the cosmic energies responsible for all creation.

Employing the fundamental tenets of Buddhism, Hinduism, Sufism, Sikhism, and Greek mythology, her personal emphasis lay on the cyclic nature of existence — exploring the decay and rejuvenation of innumerable life-forms through the unending process of birth, death, and rebirth. Her works became a state of meditation that, like Buddhist mandalas, explored cosmic truths and the laws of the universe. Kohli considered herself a visual yet abstract storyteller. The stories she wove were not autobiographical, yet they remained deeply personal and connected to occurrences in her life.

This assemblage of works, in particular, expressed diverse nuances of life and different pathways to nirvana, the final liberation. In this journey, Kohli was guided by the verses of saints such as Kabir, Nanak, Namdev, Baba Farid, Bulleh Shah, and Shah Hussain. Many of these saints were weavers who taught how the body and soul were woven together. In this series, she explored their teachings through the visual deployment of weaving and stitching techniques.

During the development of the project, Kohli acquired a weaving loom and a charkha from Panipat weavers, which became part of the installation. She also employed the unique mechanical sonorities of the loom as a symbolic representation of ceaseless cosmic creation, into which all beings are minutely interwoven.

The project consisted of 15 artworks embroidered with silk and cotton threads, beads, and sequins on untreated canvas cloth. There were three paintings in acrylic with gold and silver leaf on canvas, as well as two works that brought together painting and embroidery. The series also included 18 drawings executed with gold leaf and inks on archival paper, depicting the instruments and materials used in the process of creating these artworks.

A 12-minute film captured Kohli’s involvement and the entire process of making the works at the Raj Art Initiative, where the first installation of the artworks was presented with the team at the Initiative.

The project culminated in a multidimensional performance that brought together animation, music, poetry, and movement, all based on Kohli’s artworks and poetry, presented at the amphitheatre at Bikaner House.

S 501

S 501

Paperworks, Archival Photographic Works / Drawings

S 500

S 500

Paperworks, Archival Photographic Works / Drawings

S 499

S 499

Paperworks, Archival Photographic Works / Drawings

S 498

S 498

Paperworks, Archival Photographic Works / Drawings

S 497

S 497

Paperworks, Archival Photographic Works / Drawings

S 496

S 496

Paperworks, Archival Photographic Works / Drawings

S 495

S 495

Paperworks, Archival Photographic Works / Drawings

S 508

S 508

Paperworks, Archival Photographic Works / Drawings

S 507

S 507

Paperworks, Archival Photographic Works / Drawings

S 506

S 506

S 505

S 505

Paperworks, Archival Photographic Works / Drawings

S 504

S 504

Paperworks, Archival Photographic Works / Drawings

S 503

S 503

Paperworks, Archival Photographic Works / Drawings

S 502

S 502

Paperworks, Archival Photographic Works / Drawings

Within Without 1

Within Without 1

Canvas, Acrylic on Canvas

The Golden Womb Series – Ancient Whispers

The Golden Womb Series – Ancient Whispers

Canvas, Acrylic on Canvas

Untitled

Untitled

Canvas, Acrylic on Canvas

Altered Reality

Altered Reality

Threadworks, Embroidery

I Hold The Universe In The Center Of My Palm

I Hold The Universe In The Center Of My Palm

Threadworks, Embroidery

Flight Within

Flight Within

Threadworks, Embroidery

Tree of Life 2

Tree of Life 2

Threadworks, Embroidery

Tree of Life 1

Tree of Life 1

Threadworks, Embroidery

Narratives And Songs Of Hiranyagarbha Of Riding Of Winds

Narratives And Songs Of Hiranyagarbha Of Riding Of Winds

Threadworks, Embroidery

Sacred And Secular

Sacred And Secular

Threadworks, Embroidery

Mahaveera

Mahaveera

Threadworks, Embroidery

Baba Bulle Shah

Baba Bulle Shah

Threadworks, Embroidery

Dreams Of Trishala, Mahaveer

Dreams Of Trishala, Mahaveer

Threadworks, Embroidery

Related Performances

The Word for World is Home

The performance was presented at Kolkata Creativity Center Concept, script, and direction: Seema Kohli In The Word for World is Home Seema Kohli reclaims a new universalism, this...

A Circle of Our Own

The performance was presented in 2019 at the amphitheatre in Sunder Nursery, New Delhi A Circle of Our Own is an experiential narrative performance by Seema Kohli that...

The Fourth Moon

Performed at National Gallery of Modern Art, Bengaluru as part of her ongoing Exhibition 'Kaal Netra - Sacred Matrices' Concept, script, and direction: Seema KohliPhotography & Videography: Sakthi...

In Silence the Secrets Speak

Performed at the Royal Opera House, Mumbai Video is available on demand Concept, Script & Direction: Seema KohliPerformance: Seema Kohli and Lokesh Bhardwaj In Silence the Secrets Speak...

Making of ‘Cut from the Same Cloth’

Concept & Direction: Seema KohliCinematography Edit & Sound: Sakthi Doss A 12 minute capturing Seema Kohli’s involvement and the whole process of the making of the artworks at...

Ouroborus

Grid of 84 archival prints of self-portraits, of 10x10inch. The cycle of life revolves around birth, death and the eventual liberation from mortality. All forms of life follow...

Swayamsiddha: Myth, Mind and Movement Swayamsiddha

Double Channel Video Installation Video is available on demand Concept, Script & Direction: Seema KohliPerformance: Seema Kohli and HimaniPhotography: Avdesh Singh, Narendra Rai and Svabhu KohliStill Photography: Anshika...

Raks-e-Shams: Unending Dance of Light | 2014

Single Channel Installation Performance & Concept: Seema KohliCinematography: Marlène Ila Popovic, Sakthi BhagatEditing: Marlene Ila PopovicSound Design: Sahil Vasudeva “We see death as a full stop. But it...

Enter Stillness | 2022
Enter Stillness | 2022 | 2022 9 minutes 39 seconds

Concept, Script & Direction: Seema Kohli Photography & Videography: Sakthi Bhagat Editor: Tariq Vasudeva Music: Sahil Vasudeva Animation: Gaurav Singh Bedi “Seema Kohli’s Enter Stillness is a fable...

Parikrima | 2013
Parikrima | 2013 19 minutes, 19 seconds

Single Channel Film, 16:9 Aspect Ratio Concept, Script, Direction & Art: Seema Kohli Camera: Marlene Popovic Editors: Seema Kohli and Marlene Popovi Music: Sahil Vasudeva Vocals: Bindhu Malini...

EXHIBITIONS
  • ALL
  • CANVAS
  • ACRYLIC ON CANVAS
  • ARCHIVAL PRINT
  • DRAWING
  • OIL ON CANVAS
  • PAINTING ON WOOD
  • PAPERWORKS
  • ARCHIVAL PHOTOGRAPHIC WORKS / DRAWINGS
  • ETCHING
  • LITHOGRAPHS
  • PAINTINGS
  • SERIGRAPHS
  • WOODCUT
  • ZINC PLATE INTAGLIO PRINT
  • SCULPTURES
  • BRONZE
  • GLASS-REINFORCED POLYMER
  • PAINTINGS
  • SANDSTONE
  • TERRACOTTA
  • WOODEN
  • THREADWORKS
  • CLOTH
  • EMBROIDERY
  • WOODWORKS
  • ACRYLIC ON WOOD
  • ALL
  • CANVAS
  • ACRYLIC ON CANVAS
  • ARCHIVAL PRINT
  • DRAWING
  • OIL ON CANVAS
  • PAINTING ON WOOD
  • PAPERWORKS
  • ARCHIVAL PHOTOGRAPHIC WORKS / DRAWINGS
  • ETCHING
  • LITHOGRAPHS
  • PAINTINGS
  • SERIGRAPHS
  • WOODCUT
  • ZINC PLATE INTAGLIO PRINT
  • SCULPTURES
  • BRONZE
  • GLASS-REINFORCED POLYMER
  • PAINTINGS
  • SANDSTONE
  • TERRACOTTA
  • WOODEN
  • THREADWORKS
  • CLOTH
  • EMBROIDERY
  • WOODWORKS
  • ACRYLIC ON WOOD
  • ALL
  • ART FAIR/ BIENNALES
  • CANVAS
Bodies of Work
  • ALL
  • HERBS OF INHERITANCE
  • KHULA AASMAN
  • MOON MYTHS
  • SAPTA MATRIKA
  • SHAKTI
  • TANTRA
  • THE GOLDEN WOMB SERIES
  • TREE OF LIFE
  • YOGINIS
  • ALL
  • ARTICLES
  • EXHIBITIONS
  • PAINTINGS
  • PERFORMANCES