Wednesday, April 18, 2007

cloth that shook the world

This looks REALLY interesting...

CLOTH THAT SHOOK THE WORLD
RIOTS! UPHEAVAL! REVOLUTION! PROGRESS!
NEW EXHIBITION AT THE TEXTILE MUSEUM OF CANADA

Cloth that shook the world Textime Museum of Canada

May 2 to October 7, 2007
Curated by Max Allen
Opening reception: May 2, 6:30 to 8:00 pm, remarks at 6:45 pm
Cloth is at the heart of history – locally, nationally and globally. Textiles triggered the Industrial Revolution, shaped the national independence of India, and are vital to the economic power of China.
Cloth That Shook The World tells twenty stories, each with textiles setting the stage for change. Featuring headlines such as Starving Textile Workers Go On Rampages and Destroy 21 Mills, Gandhi Vows to Back Indian Weavers, Ban On Traditional Dress Sparks Revolution, and Dying Aral Sea Called Worst Environmental Disaster – Welcome to cloth as front page news!

An evocative addition to Cloth That Shook The World is Factory, a 30-minute film by the prominent Taiwanese artist Chen Chieh-jen. To make this dream-like “documentary” Chen invited a group of women to return to the derelict Lien Fu garment factory – where they had worked for over two decades before losing their jobs. In the 1990s Taiwan’s manufacturing industries began to move abroad to other areas with cheaper labour, and the owners of the garment factory closed the plant, refusing to pay retirement pensions and severance benefits. The film evokes a sense of time stopped and time flowing, reflecting the experiences of textile workers worldwide, overwhelmed by the tornado of change.

Many of the textiles in Cloth That Shook The World were made to travel far and wide, as part of the risky worlds of commerce and profit. Others reflect the political and cultural conflicts in which they played a central role, often resulting in starvation, riots and change.

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