These tiles form part of Soi's most recent immersion in Srinagar, where since 2014 he has been experimenting with his imagery rendered by the use of Kashmiri motifs painted as a part of an ongoing commission with the master craftsman Fayaz Jan. The tiles they are painted upon are an extension of the craft of papier-mâché that is ubiquitous in the craft industry of Kashmir.
Soi was fascinated to learn that the craft is an import, carried into the valley by Sufi preachers travelling from Central Asia. He developed the material as tiles, a process that took a year to finesse, thus creating canvases that he could work upon. The tiles consist of a papier-mâché core, over which clay from the river Jhelum—that runs through the city—is layered to smoothen the rough papier-mâché surface. It is then layered over with thin tissue paper and sealed with saresh. This process gives the tiles an absorptive surface, making painting upon them extremely pleasurable.
In Dark Star, the motif used is an isolated pattern from a ceiling panelled in a Khatamb design. Soi requested the craftsmen to work in shades of grey as he is fascinated with the trope of the grisaille. In classical oil painting, the underlayer is painted in volumetric shades of grey, providing an illusion of depth, upon which colour was added in transparent glazes. Such formal applications fascinate Soi. They are symptomatic of the desire for representation.
In Dark Star, the motif used is an isolated pattern from a ceiling panelled in a Khatamb design. Soi requested the craftsmen to work in shades of grey as he is fascinated with the trope of the grisaille. In classical oil painting, the underlayer is painted in volumetric shades of grey, providing an illusion of depth, upon which colour was added in transparent glazes. Such formal applications fascinate Soi. They are symptomatic of the desire for representation.
