“The Slow Thread.” by Vriddhi Toolsidass opened Jan. 31. Largely inspired by her trip to Hyderabad in South India, Toolsidass, a junior majoring in art, said she wanted to shed light on the homecraft of local artisans.

“A lot of these artisans were working under contracts, so it was super hard to find people who are willing to share their work and enter their homes,” Toolsidass said. 

Upon entering the Roski Gallery, exhibition visitors are immediately enveloped into an energetic atmosphere abounding with swirling circular designs, muted colors and sweeping, bannerlike prints along each wall.

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While some prints incorporate more human aspects, drawing attention to the intricate design details, others are more straightforward, employing abstract patterns and bold shapes. 

Through word of mouth, Toolsidass was introduced to the founder of Creative Bee, an Indian organization that focuses on uplifting fashion designers and brands with an emphasis on sustainability and rural sourcing. 

In speaking with Bina Rao, a co-founder of Creative Bee, Toolsidass not only secured an important resource to help begin her project but also gained relevant insight that furthered her motivation to complete her exhibition. 

“[Rao told me that] people coming from India, a lot of them don’t go into crafts and creativity and art because they’re often pressured into doing jobs like being an engineer or being a doctor. And a lot of the newer generation is not really as creative in India as the older generation … and not thinking about traditions and the environment,” Toolsidass said.

Swayta Toolsidass, Vriddhi’s mother, emphasized that USC was the perfect canvas for Vriddhi Toolsidass to pursue the project.

“The art is now dying out because of the machinery coming in. She wanted to make a difference. And then she thought of this project, and she thought starting in Los Angeles, in USC — it’s a fantastic platform,” Swayta Toolsidass said.

Many of the materials, including the blocks and dyes, were shipped directly from India, creating a sense of intimacy and threading both history and a personal connection into the artwork. 

With the assistance of Dava Whisenant, an award-winning director known for “Bathtubs Oover Broadway” (2018), art lecturer Eric Junker and Mimi’s Crafts — a women-owned small business focused on teaching aspiring artists — Vriddhi Toolsidass began to fold multimedia elements into her exhibition. As visitors step further into the space, attendees find themselves immersed in the practice of batik printing as a film reel is projected onto the wall. 

As detailed in the short reel, both block and batik — or wax — printing are intense processes that span multiple days. First, the dye is mixed, and a binder with liquid ammonia is prepared to make the paint thicker. Once a fire is lit and a dye fixer is added, the dye heats up and turns into a paste. Firm pressure is applied to make the paste compact.

The next step is to create a sari, which means “strip of cloth” in Sanskrit and denotes a traditional garment worn by South Asian women. First, a piece of cloth is cut, soaked, tied and soaked again in dye. After the fabric is laid on a surface covered with sand, a block immersed in wax is pressed into the fabric, printing a specific design using the prepared dye. Once this layer dries, the sari is complete. 

“I’m super into the video. I love that she did this as a multimedia piece. Because obviously, the base is textiles, but she went so far beyond that just to bring it to life and show the story. It really shows that there’s people behind the textiles,” said Bryn Tronco, a junior majoring in design.

Watching the video reel is not the only way to interact with the art’s history. As attendees swivel to the opposite side of the room, they can explore a stand dedicated to teaching visitors the practice of block printing. 

“There’s no chemical involved … These are blocks which are made out of real wood, and then you take the vegetable dye prints, and you start blocking into it,” Swayta Toolsidass said. 

Hands-on techniques such as these are not merely a way to have eventgoers become active partakers in the art. In replicating the process of this artisan craft, visitors begin to bridge past and present, increase awareness about a dying cultural phenomenon and contribute to Vriddhi Toolsidass’ own unique textile story — one of multiple lived experiences. 

“The workshop in itself is a separate body of art. It’s performative, it’s reflective,” Vriddhi Toolsidass said.

Placed in the context of the USC community, exhibitions such as “The Slow Thread” find relevance in the lives of other students with cultural ties to the art.   

“I know Vriddhi is Indian, and I am too, and especially being at USC, I haven’t really seen anyone do a project that’s been so connected to me culturally. And I think this is amazing representation,” said Taara Bhojwani, a sophomore majoring in cinematic arts, film and television production. 

Put together, “The Slow Thread” is a testament to sustainability, history, culture and recreation. As Vriddhi Toolsidass posits, it is important to think about preservation. 

“It just doesn’t have to be artisans in India. It can be artisans from anywhere, artisans in Los Angeles, because everyone is important, and everyone, like this work, deserves to be seen,” Vriddhi Toolsidass said.

“The Slow Thread” will run at the Roski Gallery until Feb. 11.