Concept note

Evolution OR Revolution?

 

Bangalore was not always the posh and sophisticated town it has now become. Today Bangalore projects itself as the Silicon Vally of the east with IT hubs, KPO and BPOs and computers at every corner driving social milieu. But it was not always so. Earlier BLr was a Textile hub and its claim to fame was the vibrant textile industry in Bangalore and its surrounding areas. How things have evolved since then.

 

With passage of time  the demand for mass production increased as did the customer base. Changing customer preferences drove the need for latest designs and weaves. All this resulted in demand for more automation and faster production of products. Since the earlier process was largely manual effort based, the skilled weavers found it difficult to cope up with the increasing demand as the rate of production of jacquard hand looms was relatively slow. For production a lot of man power was required and so was a lot of time to produce products. With the passage of time power looms came into the picture and helped the rate of production as the power looms could produce upto three times more in comparison to hand looms. Power looms also required less man power. The automation and advancement of looms affected the skilled weavers as most of them started losing their jobs due to the power looms that are being used extensively these days. Weavers are also encouraging their children to study and come up in life rather than following the family tradition of becoming weavers. The textile industry is also demanding for skilled weavers who are well educated and also have the knowledge about technology. The weavers must have the knowledge of technology as the jacquard looms that are widely used today are computerised which requires the understanding of computers and software along with the basic knowledge and skill of weaving.

Our installation aims at showing the change in this evolution of the entire industry as well as the life around this trade and the changes that have come up. We encourage you to see this yourself and decide for yourself : Evolution OR Revolution?

Our installation includes elements such as mannequins, saris, loom, threads. These elements are tentative.