Hand-coiled and knotted necklace. Fastens with a stitched knot and bound loop.
Materials: Reclaimed sari fabric, embroidery thread and fine silver thread.
Necklace length: 46 cm / 18 inches.
Tanvi is an interdisciplinary artist based in Hastings. Her award-winning textile jewellery practice began in 2005. Inspired by the hem of mother’s sari, she explores methods of prolonging the life of textiles through refined hand-construction techniques of coiling, knotting and stitching to create sculptural jewellery. She primarily works with clothing that is no longer worn such as saris, scarves, and dress-making off-cuts sourced from her circles of family and friends. Materials of sentimental value or simply tired looking, unwanted items of clothing are transformed through an elegant union of often contrasting raw materials. An array of fabrics that allude to personal and collective histories draw upon the convergence of age-old practices and the symbolic functions of cloth, costume and adornment. Intricately coiled fabrics are blended with organic cottons, fine gold and sterling silver threads with hand-embroidered details of reticulated silver, hand-formed porcelain and faceted gemstones. Tanvi’s wider practice expands into sculpture, collage and participatory installations for both indoor and outdoor spaces and community engagement.