Cotton: labour, land and body
Through textiles, films and works on paper, this free to attend exhibition explored how one of the world's most ubiquitous materials has shaped the relationship between Britain and South Asia.
You can watch the four talks from our symposium, Stories of Cotton, here
For thousands of years, cotton has been skilfully cultivated from seed to yarn and crafted into garments to support a growing expansion of trade and consumption. Today, cotton remains one of the most profitable crops in the world, yet the stories and histories that it holds are rarely told.
In this exhibition, visitors were taken on an expedition across time, geographies, cultures and traditions, uncovering multi-generational connections between Britain and South Asia through the cotton industry in Lancashire. Featuring work by artists Raisa Kabir, Brigid McLeer, Bharti Parmar and Reetu Sattar commissioned by the British Textile Biennial 2021, it captures the impact of cotton production on labour, land and the body.
Journey through punched khadi paper (a paper made from 100% cotton rag) – echoing Gandhi’s campaign to end British rule – to coded Bengali script and job titles of production-line workers captured in handwoven and jacquard textiles.
Cotton: labour, land and body is curated by Uthra Rajgopal. 21st Sept 2022 - 4th March 2023
Supported by the Bagri Foundation. In partnership with The Super Slow Way, the British Textile Biennial and the National Festival of Making.