Textile artist Ekta Kaul uses textile and embroidery to create narrative maps of the world around her.
Over the last 15 years I have built a multifaceted portfolio practice encompassing art, design, creative consultancy and education. My practice is primarily focussed on creating narrative maps that explore places, histories and belonging through stitch.
Ekta Kaul portrait. Image by Ekta Kaul.
How do you deal with the conceptual difficulty and uncertainty of creating new work?
Creating new work is an act of hope in defiance of a million uncertainties. Once you accept that uncertainty comes with the territory, you don’t focus on it. I simply focus on the need to create, which often feels almost like a physical force that pushes you to express and to create. I trust the process. I know enough by now to allow it to flow.
Let’s talk about the evolution of your practice over the years.
I grew up in India and trained at India’s premier design school, the National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad, where the pedagogy is founded on Charles and Ray Eames manifesto and Bauhaus principles of learning by doing. These early years spent immersed in design thinking built a firm foundation and a lifelong devotion to rigour and attention to detail.
After working in the Indian craft sector for a few years, I moved to the UK for a master’s degree to explore textiles in greater depth. I was quite fortunate to win a couple of British Council scholarships to pursue my studies. Soon after my masters, I was awarded a residency and a business set-up grant by the Crafts Council of England that helped me set up my own studio practice here in the UK.
Living in diverse, vibrant cities like Edinburgh, Bath, Ahmedabad, Delhi and London has been wonderful education in celebrating plurality of perspectives, imbibing a wide array of cultural influences and developing a creative voice rooted in the non-binary.
Over the last 15 years I have built a multifaceted portfolio practice encompassing art, design, creative consultancy and education. My practice is primarily focussed on creating narrative maps that explore places, histories and belonging through stitch. I undertake private and public commissions for bespoke maps. My maps are held in several collections including the Gunnersbury Museum, Liberty’s of London, Chiswick Library and those of private collectors. My work can be seen at select group of galleries and stores in the UK and internationally including The New Craftsmen, Contemporary Applied Arts, Designers Guild, Museum of Art and Design NYC, The Conran Shop Tokyo among others.
Working on public participatory art projects is a key element of my practice, more on that later. I am also an educator and love sharing my skills with others. I teach embroidery courses from my studio and in partnership with institutions such as the Victoria & Albert Museum, Kettle’s Yard and Leighton House Museum to name a few.
Liberty Map detail. Textile artist Ekta Kaul. Photo by Kangan Arora.
Which shows, performances and experiences have shaped your own creative process?
One of the most inspiring shows I have seen is the Anni Albers retrospective at the Tate Modern. Her prolific body of work extending from art, design, writing and teaching is simply awe-inspiring. Such has been the legacy of this exhibition, that it has shifted the conversation in this country about textiles finally being acknowledged as art. Other than Albers there are many artists whose work I admire, like Barbara Hepworth, Susan Sontag, Dayanita Singh, and Louise Bourgeois.
Artists often experience contradicting motivations between the commercial and the creative. How do you resolve this conflict? How does your interaction with a curator, gallery or client evolve?
I assess each potential project on my Ikigai framework of three criteria – creative merit, profile and financial and aim to find a spot where all three overlap. Also, it is important to remember that as you progress through your career and become more established, you can choose to work with people and projects whose values are aligned with yours. For instance, I am passionate about bringing art to those who do not have access to it due to economic or social circumstances. So I regularly take on community art projects that break down barriers and bring people from all backgrounds together. I collaborate with like-minded organisations including museums and charities who aim to make art accessible to all. My recent community art projects include commissions from Gunnersbury Park Museum, Watermans Art Centre, Craftspace, Hounslow Council and Abundance London. I am also an educator and see sharing my skills as an important element of my practice. Working in this fluid way affords me the freedom to express my ideas straddling several spheres simultaneously.
British Isles Map. Textile artist Ekta Kaul. Photo by The New Craftsmen.
What was your first sale? Do you handle the commercials yourself or is it outsourced to a gallery/agent.
I still remember the excitement of my first sale, a grey and ochre embroidered quilt bought by a well known news presenter at my first show at Somerset House, London. I work directly with customers as well as through galleries.
Think of the biggest professional risk you have taken. What helped you take that risk?
Starting a business in the midst of the global economic meltdown of 2008 was a big risk, which I felt more keenly being so far away from the comfort of home. However, I quickly learnt that it is in such times that we are at our most creative. Though the state of the UK economy at the time was grim, it was also a chance to take risks, experiment and find a tribe who would respond to my work. So this is exactly what I did. Today, I can count some really fantastic people and organisations amongst my supporters and thanks to their support I have built a thriving practice.
The biggest lesson I have learnt is the power of perseverance. There are no shortcuts. Showing up and working on developing a distinctive artistic voice, tweaking your business and nurturing relationships is the key.
London Story Map In situ. Textile artist Ekta Kaul. Photo by The New Craftsmen.
Tell us about your studio. What kind of place is it? Could you describe your usual work day in the studio?
I work from my studio at Cockpit Arts, a wellspring of creativity in the midst of buzzy central London. It is my happy place. It is where I dream, make all my work and teach embroidery to small groups of textile aficiniados. Cockpit Arts is the UK’s only incubator for creative businesses and has a fantastic team working to support resident artists. The studios are home to over 140 artists and makers, and I love being part of this community.
A day at the studio can involve anything from working on commissions, to brainstorming new ideas peppered with mid-corridor chats and bouncing off ideas with fellow artists.
Are you more of a studio artist or naturally collaborative by nature? How do you feel about commissions?
I try to strike a balance between working on my own and collaborating with others. Some of my recently collaborations can be found on my website.
What are you working on now? What’s coming next season?
I am working on a new body of work exploring abstract maps that I hope to unveil in autumn 2020. I have recently released a small series of paintings of maps of London Parks. In this time of lockdown I am also considering meaningful ways of sharing skills and work online. I am excited about what would emerge from this period of isolation.
London Story Map (Cutout). Textile artist Ekta Kaul. Photo by Yeshen Venema.
What would you call your style? Tell us about your commitment to your current medium.
Minimalist at its core, my work seeks to tell stories and create a sense of tranquility through a highly considered use of graphic marks, rustic textures and a monochrome palette.
Let’s talk about your frameworks, references and process. What inspires you?
Textiles have the innate ability to hold emotional meaning for us. It is the only material we have the longest and most intimate relationship with. Stitch has a long history of storytelling, stretching back to thousands of years. Stitched textile is my chosen medium not simply because of its intrinsic capacity for expressing personal and collective narrative, but also because embroidery enables me to slow down, observe my thoughts more and get into a flow state. In our fast paced, screen-laden lives, working with a needle and thread telling stories that matter, feels like an absolute privilege to me.
For enquiries contact: info@ektakaul.com
Before you go – you might like to browse our Artist Interviews. Interviews of artists and outliers on how to be an artist. Contemporary artists on the source of their creative inspiration.
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