Notes

In my artistic practice, I work with textiles, cotton, and metal to reference my South African Indian heritage and the generations of skill passed down through embroidery, sewing, crocheting, and knitting. Drawing from my own experiences, I situate my creative jewellery practice within a South African Islamic feminist context, using familiar mediums such as paper, porcelain, and needlework to reflect the complex life stories of Muslim women. The pieces presented here are directly inspired by my surroundings and upbringing, which are deeply woven into multiple aspects of my identity. Crochet, in particular, connects me to inherited knowledge systems, while its translation into metal becomes a re-interpretation of this knowledge in my present state of being. The folded material, embroidery, and metal forms embody the interconnections of faith and identity. My first engagement with ideas surrounding faith and self often emerges intuitively, later unfolding into a more deliberate process of contemplation and discovery. Through the transformation of textiles into metal and vice versa, I reflect on identity as fluid and ever-changing, not fixed to one material, form, or technique, but instead woven together through lived experiences and memory.

-Mariambibi Khan