Pallavi Padukone

BIO

Pallavi is a textile artist and designer based in New York. She draws inspiration from nature and her surrounding landscape for color and patterns and innovates with sustainable materials. Her design practice strongly believes in the philosophy of respecting craftsmanship, the handmade, and the slow.

ARTIST STATEMENT

Reinterpreting the fragrance industry, Reminiscent is an experimental sensorial collection that uses natural ways to integrate and infuse scents into crafted textiles using fragrance as a form of embellishment. The sense of smell is a powerful catalyst to trigger memories and feelings of calm and comfort. Reminiscent explores the concept of scents for wellness and how fragrances can be expressed visually through color, patterns, and textures. It is a system of using textiles as aromatherapy to condense time and distance and create an immersive experience to reconnect with nature, nostalgia, home, and identity. Each fragrance is translated through handwoven and embroidered wall hangings and tapestries. Pallavi uses a natural coating for yarn to capture scents, using beeswax, tree resin, and essential oils and colored with earth pigments. Her current collection plays with scents she associates with her hometown Bangalore in India. At a time when wearing masks is the new normal, and we take our sense of smell for granted, her textiles pay tribute to this powerful sensorial experience and its effect on mental and physical wellness.

Interview with Pallavi Padukone

Can you tell us a bit about your background and how you became interested in becoming an artist? Who or what were some of your most important early influences?

I grew up being exposed to different forms of art from an early age whether it was dance, music, or fine art. My mother is a graphic designer and used to work at a gallery in Bangalore, India. Growing up, I would often visit her at her place of work. There were always prints and paintings displayed on the walls of our house, which is one of the reasons why I developed a curiosity for art as a child. In my undergraduate education at a design school, I decided to specialize in textiles because working with my hands came naturally to me. It was after working on a textile installation during my final year, and thoroughly enjoying the process, I started looking at fibers as a medium of art and expression. Its multi-sensory aspect and array of techniques and materials were exciting to explore.

Any stories you can share about early memories of how an aspect of the arts impacted you?

I remember going to my first ever textile art exhibition by the artist Jayshree Poddar in Bangalore, back in maybe 2014. It was a collection of woven artworks inspired by the five elements and their spiritual qualities. I remember being in absolute awe with her jacquard fabrics in three-dimensional form. It really opened my eyes to how complex this medium can be and to view textiles with a conceptual lens.

Where are you currently based and what initially brought you there? Are there any aspects of this specific location or community that have inspired your work?

I am currently based in New York City. I initially came here to pursue my masters in textiles at Parsons School of Design. It’s been a great place to feel inspired with the multitude of art shows, exhibitions, museums and a growing art and design community. New York Textile Month – a month long event that takes place annually in September, has also been a good way to meet fellow artists and designers in the industry.

Having been in NYC during the pandemic and being so far away from my family back in India during such an unpredictable time made me very emotional and nostalgic and was also what inspired my ongoing collection ‘Reminiscent’. It is an experimental sensorial collection that uses natural ways to integrate and infuse scents into crafted textiles using fragrance as a form of embellishment. Using fragrant roots and scent-coated yarn, I explore how scents can be expressed visually and their ability to condense time and distance and create an immersive experience to reconnect with nature, nostalgia, home, and identity. At a time when wearing masks is the new normal, and we take our sense of smell for granted, my textiles pay tribute to this powerful sensorial experience and its effect on wellness.

Can you describe your studio space? What are some of the most crucial aspects of a studio that make it functional? Do any of these specific aspects directly affect your work?

I work out of my apartment and have my trusty sewing machine and tapestry looms. When making my scented yarn, my kitchen becomes my makeshift lab. Space is limited and working on larger pieces is a bit of a challenge. At times, the size of my piece is planned based on access to workspace.

What is a typical day like? If you don't have a typical day, what is an ideal day?

I spend my week working at a design studio designing rugs and textiles for home interiors and I spend my weekends on my independent art practice. I wouldn’t say it is every weekend, but more as and when I feel inspired to start a new artwork or project. Inspiration for a piece can come instinctively from available materials or their colors and at other times it is more planned and thought through.

What gets you in a creative groove or flow? Are snacks involved? ☺

My Spotify playlist and lots of tea. I have a habit to journal ideas as and when I feel inspired.

Is there anything that interrupts and stagnates your creative energy?

I am slowly coming to terms that I don’t always need to feel inspired to create something completely new or feel the need to put my work out there. It is alright to take a break or make artwork just for myself. Creativity can also stem from relooking at past pieces that don’t speak to me anymore and reinvent them.

How do you select materials? How long have you worked with this particular media or method?

I have been a textile designer for the last 7 years and a practicing artist for the last 4 years. I started working with the integration of scent in 2019. Collaborating with nature, I was able to develop a natural coating for yarn and beads to capture scents, using beeswax, natural resin, essential oils and colored with natural dyes and earth pigments. My work is guided by culture and craft, using techniques of hand weaving and embroidery. I integrate hand-spun recycled sari silk mixed with scent coated cotton for my weaves and embroider on organza silk. I am drawn to the way sheer fabrics interact with light to visually evoke the ephemeral experience of fragrance. I also work with the fragrant vetiver (khus) root. It releases the most divine petrichor-like scent when activated with water. Inspired by the traditional Indian use of khus as a natural air cooler where it is matted and wet felted onto windows. I use embroidery as a technique to tame the vetiver root, while retaining its natural wildness. The materials I select are chosen for their sensorial qualities, their connection to landscape, place and time and are woven into the story behind each piece.

Can you walk us through your overall process? How long has this approach been a part of your practice?

The idea of using fragrance for its therapeutic qualities and its connection with nostalgia and memory was one that resonated with me. My initial source of inspiration was the calming effect of a small pouch of lavender, while being cooped up in my apartment during the lockdown in 2020. This gave me the idea to further explore the concept of scents for wellness and how they can be expressed visually through color, patterns, and textures. As part of my research, I conducted surveys to record the relationship people have with fragrance and their link to memory, emotion, visual imagery, color, and texture. Each chosen fragrance from my collection represents a different color palette. The idea of fragrant yarn itself, I felt, opened more doors to possibilities regarding textile techniques. Collaborating with nature, through trial and error, I was able to develop a natural coating for yarn to capture scents. For color I use natural dyes like cutch, turmeric, walnut among others along with earth pigments derived from clay and mineral oxides. The testing phase for the yarn involved sampling weave structures and embroidery techniques that were best suited for the medium. I keep a record of swatches as a test of the materials durability and how long the scent and color lasts when exposed to heat and light. The process is still being perfected and is a part of my ongoing exploration.

Can you talk about some of the ongoing interests, imagery, and concepts that have informed your process and body of work overtime? How do you anticipate your work progressing in the future?

Overtime, I find my intertest delving deeper into the intersection of design, craft, art and technology. My recent interest in fragrance combined with my passion for textiles has been a fascinating and interesting learning process. I believe Olfactory art is an area that has great scope for exploration and innovation.

As a result of the pandemic, many artists have experienced limited access to their studios or loss of exhibitions, income, or other opportunities. Has your way of working (or not working) shifted significantly during this time? Are there unexpected insights or particular challenges you’ve experienced?

At the start of the pandemic my access to studio space and resources were limited, but that time really taught me to slow down, scale down, be more mindful in my making process and make the most of what I already have available. These qualities I still try and incorporate in my studio practice.

Can you share some of your recent influences? Are there specific works—from visual art, literature, film, or music—that are important to you?

I am often influenced by nature, and I draw inspiration from my surrounding landscape for patterns and my color palette. I am trying not to be afraid of incorporating bright colors which comes through in my recent work, though I initially gravitate towards neutrals or deep earthy tones. I was recently inspired by Kandinsky’s use of color after seeing a collection of his paintings exhibited at the Guggenheim. Mrinalini Mukherjee, Anni Albers, Ruth Asawa, Aurèlia Muñoz, and Julia Lohmann are some of the artists that I look up to for their innovation and command over materials and techniques. The “Patola” weave from Gujarat and “Jamdani” technique of weaving from West Bengal, both in India, are ones that I have always found beautiful and intriguing, and which have also influenced the motifs in my recent collection.

Who are some contemporary artists you’re excited about? What are the best exhibitions you’ve seen in recent memory and why do they stand out?

I have seen some great exhibitions but two that really stood out for me were “Phenomenal Nature” at the Met Breuer in New York, exhibiting the work of Mrinalini Mukherjee and Ruth Hardinger’s “Transcending Fields” at Mana Contemporary in Jersey City. Both exhibitions were curated extremely well. Seeing the scale of Mrinalini Mukherjee’s work up close and the command she had over her material (hemp) to create such beautiful, sculpted forms was certainly phenomenal. “Transcending Fields” was a memorable exhibition because I felt I had stepped into an archeological site. Hardinger’s work had a spiritual aspect to it that I could relate to.

Do you have any tips or advice that someone has shared with you that you have found particularly helpful?

A friend of mine shared an Instagram post that resonated with me. The words are by Aime McNee. It said- “Trust the rhythm of your creative journey. Stillness is not stagnancy; you are always evolving”.

What are you working on in the studio right now? What’s coming up next for you?

Currently I am looking at new fragrances and devising ways to integrate their scents into my textiles and as well as researching techniques to retain fragrances in the textiles for longer periods. I am also exploring some interesting collaborations in these areas, which, hopefully, will materialize.

To find out more about Pallavi Padukone check out her Instagram and website.