Spandita Malik: Jāḷī—Meshes of Resistance

July 6, 2023 – February 24, 2024
Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art

4420 Warwick Boulevard
Kansas City, MO

"Jyoti," 2023. Photographic transfer print on khaddar fabric, phulkari silk thread embroidery, beadwork Unique 63.5 x 47 inches. ©Spandita Malik

"Jyoti," 2023. Photographic transfer print on khaddar fabric, phulkari silk thread embroidery, beadwork Unique 63.5 x 47 inches. ©Spandita Malik

July 6th, 2023 6:00—9:00pm
ARTIST TALK & RECEPTION
Bar Opens 5:30 p.m. | Artist talk 6 p.m. | Reception 7 p.m.

International photographer and social practice artist Spandita Malik (Indian, born 1995) collaborates with women across North Indian states to create embroidered portraits that embody and empower their subjects. For Malik’s first solo museum exhibition, Spandita Malik: Jāḷī—Meshes of Resistance, the artist expands upon her photographic series Nā́rī, a project that she began as a graduate student at Parsons School of Design in 2019. For Nā́rī, she traveled to small communities in India known for their distinct embroidery styles and places where women learn handicraft to gain financial independence. Malik met with women who are part of self-help groups for survivors of domestic and gender-based violence and requested permission to document them within their homes or personal spaces. Each woman was invited to embroider her own portrait and claim agency over her portrayal. In the years following, the women connected with each other and Malik over phone calls and group chats, where they were able to deepen their relationships and form a greater support system.

The word jāḷī is recognized across many languages with roots in Sanskrit, referring to the openwork that appears in architecture, metalwork, and embroidery. Here jāḷī refers to an openwork stitch that produces a fine mesh structure or the appearance of a net. Within the context of Malik’s exhibition, jāḷī also transforms into an expansive metaphor that uplifts networks and communities, particularly those formed among women with shared experiences. Produced in dialogue with many collaborators, Malik’s portrait series showcases the unique preferences, desires, and fears of the individual women who comprise the collective, nurturing a symbiotic relationship between group and self-expression.

Spandita Malik: Jāḷī—Meshes of Resistance is organized by Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art and curated by Krista Alba, assistant curator.