COLLABORATIONS
Dior Crafts the Future with Creative Director Maria Grazia Chiuri, French Artist Eva Jospin, Chanakya Atelier and Chanakya School of Craft
On the occasion of the Dior Haute Couture Autumn-Winter 2021-2022 show, presented at the Rodin Museum on July 5th, 2021, the House of Dior unveiled an exceptional installation by artist Eva Jospin: a forty-meter-long immersive gallery, entirely hand-embroidered in India by the Chanakya atelier and Chanakya School of Craft, based on a unique drawing by the artist. Titled Chambre de Soie (Silk Room), the work nods both to the Indian-inspired Embroidery Room at the Palazzo Colonna in Rome and to Virginia Woolf’s feminist manifesto 'A Room of One’s Own.'
320 artisans from the Chanakya Atelier and The Chanakya School of Craft hand craft this dream landscape using 150 variations of hand embroidery techniques and over 400 colours and various 3dimensional braiding techniques to add depth, texture and dimension.
For her monumental creation – representing 350 square meters of embroidery – the master artisans from the Chanakya Atelier, known for preserving excellence in savoir-faire, and the Chanakya School of Craft in Mumbai worked for several months to meticulously realize this infinite landscape.
The immense concentration of details continues throughout the entire exhibition, allowing viewers to venture inside the work in a literal sense. Woods, lianas, boulders and imaginary architectures are meticulously embroidered to compose a place conducive to reverie and wandering, like the follies found in Baroque gardens. The lexical field remains that of illusion, and a world – a room of one’s own.
The difference between art and craft lies not in the tools you hold in your hands, but in the mental set that guides them. For the artisan, craft is an end in itself. For you, the artist, craft is the vehicle for expressing your vision. Craft is the visible edge of art.
DAVID BAYLES
CHRISTIAN DIOR +
EVA JOSPIN + CHANAKYA +
CHANAKYA SCHOOL OF CRAFT
Dior Crafts the Future with Creative Director Maria Grazia Chiuri, French Artist Eva Jospin, Chanakya Atelier and Chanakya School of Craft
On the occasion of the Dior Haute Couture Autumn-Winter 2021-2022 show, presented at the Rodin Museum on July 5th, 2021, the House of Dior unveiled an exceptional installation by artist Eva Jospin: a forty-meter-long immersive gallery, entirely hand-embroidered in India by the Chanakya atelier and Chanakya School of Craft, based on a unique drawing by the artist. Titled Chambre de Soie (Silk Room), the work nods both to the Indian-inspired Embroidery Room at the Palazzo Colonna in Rome and to Virginia Woolf’s feminist manifesto 'A Room of One’s Own.'
For her monumental creation – representing 350 square meters of embroidery – the master artisans from the Chanakya Atelier, known for preserving excellence in savoir-faire, and the Chanakya School of Craft in Mumbai worked for several months to meticulously realize this infinite landscape.
The immense concentration of details continues throughout the entire exhibition, allowing viewers to venture inside the work in a literal sense. Woods, lianas, boulders and imaginary architectures are meticulously embroidered to compose a place conducive to reverie and wandering, like the follies found in Baroque gardens. The lexical field remains that of illusion, and a world – a room of one’s own.
The difference between art and craft lies not in the tools you hold in your hands, but in the mental set that guides them. For the artisan, craft is an end in itself. For you, the artist, craft is the vehicle for expressing your vision. Craft is the visible edge of art.
DAVID BAYLES
“ At Chanakya and the Chanakya School of Craft, this project resonated deeply with our core values of cultural sustainability, craft preservation and inclusion. ”
KARISHMA SWALI
