Jugalbandi

Mainly known as a photographer, Lorenzo Vitturi presents an unique project within his artistic practice: handmade tapestries, made with traditional looms by Indian artisans. Moreover, he investigates for the first time in depth the concept of collaborative practice in the creation of an artwork.

The show is entitled Jugalbandi, which translates to “entwined twins” and is a musical performance of two people who are neither sole soloist nor solely accompanying, alluding to the structure chosen for the creation of the works, fruit of an fascinating team-work between Lorenzo Vitturi and the Indian craftsmen.

While travelling through rural communities and meeting local weavers in the Indian region of Rajasthan, Vitturi was captivated by the sculptural assemblages that the village life unconsciously creates, as for example, a hay bale precariously balancing on a gate pillar, a pile of terracotta bowls or even a loom covered by a tarp. These arrangements, photographed by Vitturi during his research trip, stand as the genesis of the project.

The urban sculptures are then abstracted into a series of graphic fragments that carry in their outlines a reminiscence of their original shape. In a second moment, the abstract shapes are merged creating a composition of multilayered color fields. Ultimately, the abstract fragments, through the hands of the Indian artisans take real shape as impressive tapestries. As a result each tapestry embodies with its textured presence the richness and beauty of the village's life and its gentle spirit of becoming. Like in a map, lines and shapes tell a story where every outline has equal value. Surpassing their apparent abstractness the story narrated through the lines of each piece is one of authenticity and materiality.

For the first time in his career Vitturi delegates the final phase of the process to an external figure. The works, other than being purely Vitturi’s personal vision, carry also the artisan’s personal sphere, as on each composition the artist left some areas in which the weavers could intervene not only with their technique but also their own vision and ideas. As the very last passage of this intense process, the artist intervenes on the rugs by adding fragments of glass and wood, originated from his hometown, Venice.

The result is a Jugalbandi, a digital performance between artist and artisan, in which Vitturi’s graphic impressions, inspired by the shapes and textures collected during the time spent in the village, cohabit and coexist with the world sketched by the weavers, becoming mental maps of a journey still ongoing.

The project could not have been realized without the collaborative work of Guddi, Shanti Devi, Manju Devi, Suman, Sonu Devi, weavers of Jaipur Rugs Foundation.