Award winning British Bangladeshi Textile Maker Rezia Wahid MBE showcases her exhibition of silk hangings 'Women Air' from 19th September until 31st October 2009 at The City Gallery, Leicester. The phrase ‘Woven Air’ is derived from the word ‘Baf-Thana’ in Bengali and Wahid uses it to describe her work, with an emphasis on air, reflective calm, peace and tranquillity. Drawing on a wide range of influences from the spirituality of Islam and associated art and architecture; history; an English upbringing and worldwide travels; Wahid is able to communicate cultural, religious, social and political history through her craft.

In her weaving, Wahid draws on the rich historic ‘jamdhani’ technique from Bangladesh, which produces the finest muslin in the world. Using the technique, Wahid dyes her own colours using both natural and chemical dyes and is able to inlay motifs such as leaf patterns into the main cloth. Her emphasis on light and transparency can be interpreted both as an attempt to express, and as a yearning for ‘divine light and wisdom’ – a crucial theme in all disciplines of traditional and modern Islamic Art. Her other sources of inspiration come from Nature, Japanese Kasuri , Egyptian cottons, Chinese silk, English merino wool and Japanese yarns.

“When I am weaving and at work I feel very spiritual and close to God. I purposely leave unfinished edges in order to keep the cloths free and ‘dancing’ in the air. Thus, traditional cloths juxtapose their original meaning and become a contemporary artform. People can feel peace and tranquillity as well as feel inspired to wear, feel, touch and dance with the cloths! In this way I hope that my work can help build a bridge between crafts and contemporary art.”

Wahid attended the Chelsea College of Art and Design from 1994-1995 and was awarded a first class degree from Surrey Institute of Art and Design in 1998. She went onto teach Art, Design and Textiles at Warwick School for Boys from 2001-2008 encouraging boys to break the gender stereotypes connected with females and their long associated link with textiles. She took up post at the new co-educational school Fredrick Bremer School in September 2008 and was awarded an MBE in 2005 for her services to the textiles industry.

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