ARTIST STATEMENT
Deeply rooted is a feeling I encounter every day of my life even after spending more than half of my life in my adopted country! We stayed back rather inadvertently, raising a family here, and resisted becoming citizens until we had no choice three years back. Not proud but I was grateful that we were accepted. India has changed immensely since we came here and it became harder to adapt every time we visited but I realize that I can’t brush off the inheritance of my roots. I have always been immersed in my art practice, less while raising my kids. But what remained constant is the strong attachment to my roots, which seeped into our kids effortlessly. It’s mainly through my kids I experience what it is to be minorities in a colonized world but feel proud that they never feel diminished, even though frustrated at times. But we are all grateful for the opportunities that this country has given us. Since India has a rich tradition of textiles, I am always captivated by the amazing diversity and find myself borrowing from those traditions even while working on contemporary ideas.
Over the last several years, since losing my father, my mind wanders away to my homeland and often mundane scenes show up in my subconscious mind. Recently I have started my journey of using an ancient weaving technique from my home state and Bangladesh (we speak the same language) called jamdani, not for producing 6 yard long saris but for using it to interpret my art through translucent weaving. I contemplate on how cultures, countries are bound together by the warp and weft of civilization, how we are wrapped in cloth ever since our inception! My journey of jamdani continues to weave those cultures together in an ambiguous way.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Boisali Biswas is a studio artist working in mixed-media fibers, currently residing in West Bloomfield, MI. She is originally from India, and her formative years were spent at Visva-Bharti International University, founded by the Nobel Laureate, Rabindranath Tagore. The essence of that profound experience of being in tune with nature throughout the educational journey has stayed with her and continues to influence her work. She has always had a deep-rooted attachment to the traditional art forms of her culture-rich homeland. There is an underlying influence of the captivating traditional patterns and techniques and the usage of a stunningly rich array of colors in Indian art. Living in this country for over 2 decades and adapting to Western styles, techniques, inspirations in concert with her background and fascinations has made her Art into a cauldron of multicultural assemblages that are very unique and a feast for the eyes.
© Boisali Biswas