In The Shadows Of The Stars: A Photo Exhibition On Women Muqaish Artisans Of Lucknow

Mera jahaan kuch aisa ho jismein

Kaam ek majboori na ho

Jahan bazaaron mei ek tole par kaudiyan na milti ho

Jo mujhe bachchon ki cheekhon ke beech

Purane chulhe se joojhte

In band chaar diwaron mei karna pade

바카라�Mera Jahaan Kaisa Ho? By Fatima Juned

A dreamy constellation suspended in the air catches your eye when you enter the hall­. As you draw closer, you realise that it is an exquisite white dupatta with intricate muqaish work woven through its threads. Muqaish, a metal embroidery work which was brought to India by the Mughals, was once a trademark of Awadh. Today, while the modern day Uttar Pradesh바카라�especially the Nawabi city of Lucknow바카라�is popular for the chikankari embroidery work, muqaish has become a lost art. Fatima Juned바카라�s photo exhibition Taaro바카라�n Ke Darmeyan is an ode: not just to this fast disappearing art, but also its invisible women artisans.

The exhibition is part of a larger series of artistic endeavours that constitute the 바카라�G-Fest바카라�바카라�an ongoing event at Museo Camera in Gurugram, organised by reFrame, an initiative that mentors budding artists and produces as well as exhibits their works across the country. Artwork and photo exhibitions, film screenings and live performances by several artists are part of this unique event, which explores pertinent questions on gender through art.

Juned바카라�s photo series is premised on the intersectionality of gender, labour and art. Her work illuminates the lives of women muqaish artisans of Lucknow, unacknowledged for their labour both at home and as artisans. 바카라�Auratein to ye kaam shauqiya taur pe karti hain,바카라� (women do this work as a leisurely pursuit) she was told, when she first started interviewing male muqaish artisans for her project. 바카라�What really stayed with me was that these women바카라�juggling household work, embroidery, purdah and childcare바카라�are completely invisibilised and their labour is simply passed off as their 바카라�duty바카라�,바카라� she says. It was this realisation that took the shape of her photo series.

Juned uses chiaroscuro to reveal the intimate spaces where these artisans labour all day. Her pictures give a poignant impression of what it means to be trapped in a cycle of work which has no place for personal desires. Close ups of their hands, and the embroidery which they toil over, foreground their contribution to this endangered art, for which they are paid meagre wages. The series attempts to break away from the shadows within which these women dwell, bringing their faces to light in a literal sense. 바카라�The karkhana (factory) where the men work on muqaish is on the main road, accessible to the public eye,바카라� says Juned. 바카라�They are commissioned by shopkeepers regularly and get better wages. But the dilapidated homes of these women hide in narrow gullies, which one person can barely enter at a time. This restricts their access to the outside world as well as better prices for their pieces.바카라�

The young artist, a native of Lucknow, was inspired to do this photo series as the art has been in her family for generations. 바카라�I had always seen my mother and grandmother wear this work. One day, my grandmother brought out a beautiful green dupatta with intricate muqaish work all over and told me that it was her handiwork,바카라� she recalls. 바카라�It struck me how the painstaking labour behind this striking art had not been recognised for decades.바카라� It was this inter-generational tradition that also became an important thread in her photographs. 바카라�The tragedy is that these women have never worn a single piece of such clothing on their bodies. These pieces, which require ten hours of work per day, impact their eyes and backs and are expensive because of the metal prices바카라�. Juned says that if given a choice, the artisans do not wish to pass on their skill to their children and want them to get educated instead. Her work also raises the question of agency바카라�the women choosing to engage with this art out of joy, and not out of their need.

Fatima Juned바카라�s process of working with these artisans is lucid in her series. The hesitation that governed the initial response of these women to Juned바카라�s ideas has a marked presence in her photographs.  Some of their faces are veiled by the pieces that they create in these pictures. 바카라�While the older women were more reserved, the younger ones agreed to be photographed eventually,바카라� she recollects. 바카라�The process of easing them into the project was difficult, but the expressions I was able to ultimately capture were stark and raw. It was a lovely engagement.바카라�

Juned hopes that her work will bring a change, however humble, in the lives of these women. Through her enduring engagement with these artisans, she is moving towards building a women-led collective where these women can get fair prices for their labour and sell their pieces directly to the market, without the mediation of middlemen. 바카라�If I can assist even a few of these women to stay with this craft for the joy they get from it,바카라� she says, 바카라�then that will be my contribution towards slowing the rapid disappearance of muqaish.바카라�

The exhibition is open for viewing at Museo Camera till 6^th October.