>>REVIEW
MADE IN AFGHANISTAN: RUGS AND RESISTANCE, 1979-2005
Runs until May 31
Nickle Arts Museum
Made in Afghanistan: Rugs and Resistance, 1979 — 2005 illustrates the potent force of woven rugs when they are created by people that couple their skills as weavers with keen observations about their country’s political landscape. They document war, occupation and a world where passenger jets are aimed at towers full of innocent people.
No longer merely objects used to add comfort to daily living, the majority of these rugs tell the story of Afghanistan following the Soviet invasion in 1979.
The rug titled Invasion of the Soviets is in every sense as powerful a document as any news photograph. Thought to have been created by a member of the Baluch people, a semi-nomadic tribe known for camel breeding, it shows Soviet troop carriers entering the country, getting ready to unleash war.
A region of the world that has been at the nexus of armed conflict for more than two millennia, Afghanistan and its weavers have, unfortunately, had many centuries in which to perfect the art of "war rugs."
When the Soviets invaded in 1979, Afghani rebels retreated into the mountains and began to wage war with the far more powerful, and better equipped, Soviet Army.
And through it all, the rug weavers, among other artists, continued to document a nine-year-long struggle that resulted in an estimated one million dead Afghanistan citizens and nearly 15,000 dead Soviet soldiers.
One of the most visually pleasing pieces in this collection is titled Mountain Scene. Created, according to accompanying information, "sometime in the late 20th century," it depicts a pastoral scene, which at first glance is attractive in a way that a rug thrown onto a hardwood floor might be. However, this "charming" rug (as it’s described by the exhibition’s curators, Robert Fyke and Michele Hardy) takes on a more ominous tone upon closer scrutiny.
Within the scene is a military helicopter hovering over a peak, while in the lower section of the rug, armoured vehicles cross near a pattern punctuated by a rocket launcher and bomb design. The beauty of the place and the instruments of war collide in this powerful work, helping to elevate this exhibition to a collection of genuine art rather than a mere curiosity.
Other rugs included in Made in Afghanistan were woven after the period of the Soviet invasion. Search For Bin Laden is a small rug that describes the futile manhunt for the person who has claimed responsibility for the September 11 attacks in the U.S., setting off America’s so-called "War on Terror."
Is Bin Laden hiding in the formidable mountains of Afghanistan? Perhaps one day a pile-rug weaver from that war-torn country will tell us the whole story.
If you visit the Nickle Arts Museum to see this exhibition, be sure to pick up one of the two black binders that include additional descriptive information about the rugs. Text boxes with the same info would have been appreciated, however, as it’s rather awkward to view them while holding a binder. |
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