A fusion of two mediums, paintings on canvas reworked in silk. Art lovers who visited the Sakshi Art Gallery were first amazed to see the vibrant colours and then reached out to touch the tapestry to feel the softness of the silk in which the art work was woven. These tapestries in silk were the handiwork of artist duo, S G Vasudev and Battina S Subbarayulu at the Sakshi Art Gallery on St. Mark's Road. These skilfully woven masterpieces were on show in January 2001.

The exhibition titled 'Tapestries in Silk', revealed the toil, creative skills and thoughts of both the artists. The works represented the culmination of the artist's vision and the craftsman's skill.

For Vasudev, this was a new medium but it is not the first time he is entering into a medium other than oils on canvas and ink on paper. Over the years, he has experimented and worked extensively with copper relief and executed murals using different media. On hearing of Subbarayulu's skills in weaving tapestries, Vasudev approached him to have some of his artistic creations transformed into tapestries. Subbarayulu has also done tapestries for M F Hussein. Vasudev and Subbarayulu have known each other for the past seven and a half years.

Subbarayulu is an expert in weaving tapestries to the exact requirements of artists. He has been working on tapestry craft for the past few decades. The tapestries on show at the Sakshi Art Gallery were a testimony to his weaving skills. Subbarayulu knows the pulse of the artist's work and reworks them on the loom. It takes him between 20 days and three months to reproduce a painting in silk onto fabric on his loom. The colourful ones take more time. Black and whites are easier for him. First, he traces the art work, does the colour combination and then works on his loom with the picture in hand.

Photos and text by Y Rama Mohan |