“Spandita Malik: Jāḷī—Meshes of Resistance” brings complicated narratives into the fold at Kemper Museum

Courtesy photo

At the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, one of the exhibition halls holds a powerful and sentimental gallery of photos printed on khaddar and khadi fabric. Portraits of women from all across India in cozy domestic scenes, all framed and interlaced with beautiful embroidery, look back at you from the exhibit’s walls.

Breathtaking even at first glance, the meaning of and story behind the photos only serves to enhance the power of these portraits—Spandita Malik, a New York-based photographer, laid the groundwork for this intensely meaningful project at the Parsons School of Design in 2019 with her earlier series Nā́rī. 

Jāḷī—Meshes of Resistance picks up where Nā́rī left off, highlighting women from support groups for gender-based and domestic violence. Malik invited each of these women to partake in this portrait series as a way to empower them and not only give them agency over something tangible in their lives but also their portrayal and image in how each woman chose to embroider her portrait.

Each of these photos has been embroidered by hand by their subjects, and through their embroidery and image, you can begin to feel each woman’s personality, soul, fears, and hopes through them.

Jāḷī—Meshes of Resistance runs through February 24, 2024, at the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art. Its installation is part of a larger effort by Assistant Curator Krista Alba to create a network of exhibitions that address similar topics and issues in oft-overlooked mediums, as well as to highlight the voices of women artists doing work internationally and on the ground. These exhibitions also attempt to erode the disciplinary boundaries between social practice and art; be sure to stop by and take it all in before they’re gone.

Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art is open Wednesdays through Sundays from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., staying open until 9 p.m. on Thursdays.