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Tradition thread-setter Mhairi Boyle has weaved the island’s craft heritage into her latest art installation in the Bahrain Pavilion at the celebrated Expo 2020, which has kicked off in Dubai.
Her piece What She Sees is comprised of a number of weaved panels created by Bani Jamrah artisans Habib Mohamed Saleh Abdul Redha, Mohamed Saleh Abdul Redha Jaffar, Mohamed Abdul Redha Jaffar and Abdulhusaain Yousif Najem.
“In this piece, I wanted to focus on the land and sea of Bahrain, and this work helped me research and develop dyes which reflected that – seaweed dyes using different seaweed species from around Bahrain to dye material for the panels and also explore different in-land dyes to use – as well as natural fibres found in Bahrain such as palm rope and palm leaves to use within the installation,” Mhairi, 25, told GulfWeekly.
“Sea culture is a huge part of Bahrain and Bahraini culture so exploring and researching different seaweeds from around Bahrain allowed me to incorporate more of the sea into our pieces, as well as weaving with dried seaweed from different areas of Bahrain’s coastline.
“The inland natural dyes are using things found in Bahrain such as date seeds, rust, henna, walnuts, all of which were once traditionally used in Bahrain. The seaweed dyes are something new which I will continue to develop further.”
What She Sees, on display until November 30, interlaces Mhairi’s perspective of Bahrain’s culture and traditional craft heritage into a number of panels that are currently hanging between the steel columns within the pavilion.
The panels are allusive to the wizar – a long length of fabric worn around the lower half of the body typically by Arab and Bahraini fishermen in days past.
Mhairi and her team weaved 30 such panels, of which nine are currently on display – eight between the columns and one on the exhibition table within the space.
“We have based the installation around Bahrain’s sea culture and what textile garments used to be used,” the Scottish designer, who was born in Riyadh and has spent 22 years of her life in Bahrain, added.
“Wizars are versatile garments worn by men and this was something I wanted to include within the installation.
“We wove a series of wizars using seaweed and other natural soft colours to re-create the traditional cloth and show my interpretation of it and how we could create an installation alluding to the wizar as a cloth used around different coastal areas encountered within the Arab world.”
Mhairi’s piece is the first of four exhibitions to be showcased at the Bahrain Pavilion, which will change themes throughout its six-month stint at the Expo.
The first theme is the sea, followed by weaving creativity, a narration of history and finally sustainable cities.
According to the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities, which is overseeing the pavilion, What She Sees ‘reflects the nobility of the weaving craft in Bahrain and the beauty of the sails of the Banoosh - traditional fishing and pearling dhows - in the past’.
For details, follow @culturebah and @mhairi.boyle on Instagram.
