Through textiles, films and works on paper, this exhibition explores how one of the world's most ubiquitous materials has shapedrelationships between Britain and South Asia.

For thousands of years, cotton has been skilfully cultivated from seed to yarn and crafted into garments to support a growing expansion of trade and consumption.Today, cotton remains one of the most profitable crops in the world. We all own something made from cotton.

In this exhibition, visitors will be taken on a journey exploring the impact of this material on historic and developing relations between Britain and South Asia through the cotton industry in Lancashire.

Featuring artists Raisa Kabir, Brigid McLeer, Bharti Parmar and Reetu Sattar, the work on display captures the impact of cotton production on labour, land and the body. From punched khadi paper, echoing Gandhi’s campaign to end British rule, championing the boycott of imported cloth, to coded Bangla script and job titles of production-line workers captured in handwoven and jacquard textiles, contemplating museum archives of cloth samples collated from the subcontinent in the Victorian period, to the suffocating exhaustion of cotton pickers and the haunting memories of tragedies in garment factories.  

This free exhibition takes place at the Crafts Council Gallery, from 21 September 2022 to 4 March 2023. Curated by Uthra Rajgopal. Supported by Bagri Foundation. In partnership with Super Slow Way and the British Textile Biennial.