Date of Award
Spring 6-3-2023
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Fine Arts (MFA)
Department
Textiles
First Advisor
Anna Gitelson-Khan
Second Advisor
Lisa Scull
Third Advisor
Anais Missakian
Abstract
When I first arrived in New England, I was accustomed to thinking of winters as short but pleasant periods. For me, winter was a break from the strong and relentless sunlight of summer in Central India. But the contrast between my childhood winters and the same months in the Northeastern United States was dramatic. Statistically, Providence has an average of five hours of sunlight a day whereas Central India enjoys 9.5 hours during its coldest months. This pronounced change in light piqued my interest. I was struck by the various phenomena created by natural light during these cold months. Sunlight, in its ephemeral and ethereal nature, possesses a unique ability to activate stagnant spaces. It was this interaction of light with its environment that caught my interest. As a textile designer, I aimed to translate this visual quality and the resultant activation of space through the medium of textiles. I aimed to capture light’s translucency, ephemerality, luminosity and, most importantly, its movement through pattern, color and weave structure. While the ambient quality that light holds is intangible, I believe it can be interpreted through the tactile medium of textiles. Through researching different phenomena of natural light and interpreting the resulting illusions it creates, I aimed to translate the qualities of light onto a flat surface – in this case, woven fabric for an immersive experience in interior spaces.
Recommended Citation
Kejriwal, Harsha, "Sanctuary" (2023). Masters Theses. 1110.
https://digitalcommons.risd.edu/masterstheses/1110
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Included in
Art Practice Commons, Fiber, Textile, and Weaving Arts Commons, Furniture Design Commons, Interior Design Commons
Comments
View exhibition online: Harsha Kejriwal, Sanctuary