Opening Reception: With A Magpie’s Pleasure | Pria Muzumdar

Opening reception for With A Magpie’s Pleasure | Pria Muzumdar at Propeller Art Gallery.

With A Magpie’s Pleasure: Juxtapositions of Washi, Various Papers, & Wee Treasures

This is a show about pairings. Mono prints using oil-based inks and silkscreen prints created with dyes in sea-alginate paste are collagedwith beads. These beads have been collected from glass artisans in the Czech Republic, Ghana and the Far East. The range of artwork includeslarger abstracts and smaller whimsical animal prints and collages.Dots are predominant in my pattern making; I recollect the fine tie-dyed (shibori) marks called “chungadi” in Southern India on many of mymother’s favourite saris. I have clear memories of hiding behind the “pallu” draped over her shoulder and watching the sun stream throughfine hand-spun cotton. I am still mesmerized by these simple graphic dot patterns.While pairing these magical memories with my collection of textile fragments, sea glass, and beads from around the world, I imagine I amputting together the pieces of a puzzle. I problem-solve like a delighted magpie, challenging my visual brain to sift, pick and pull together.