Ikat: Between Religion and Politics, Fashion and Contemporary Art: Talk by Professor Elmira Gyul

Professor Elmira Gyul is Doctor of Art Criticism and Chief Researcher at the Institute of Art Studies of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan. She has authored a number of monographs dedicated to the decorative and applied arts of Uzbekistan: Gardens of Heaven and Gardens of Earth. Embroidery of Uzbekistan: Hidden Meanings of the Sacred Texts (Moscow 2013), Architectural Décor of the Temorids’ Epoch: Symbols and Meanings (Tashkent 2014), Carpets of Uzbekistan: History, Aesthetics and Semantics (Tashkent 2019), etc.
Elmira is a prolific writer: she has published numerous articles exploring various aspects of the Uzbek decorative and applied arts. She is a member of the Academic Council of the International Multimedia Project “Cultural Heritage of Uzbekistan in the World Collection”.
In her talk, the speaker explores how ikat has been utilised locally and globally as the exponent of various ideas in different historical periods, starting from the early Islam in the 7th century up to the 21st century. This talk is about the ikat journey starting from the Sogdian period, through the Great Silk Road, the Arab invasion, followed by the Great Game, Bukharan Empire all the way to the USSR, finishing it off with the examples of how ikat has been presented by the world-famous couturier in the West and the contemporary artists. The talk is an illustration of how ikat has been used as manifestation of multiple religious ideas, symbol of political ambitions, a fashion world fetish, and a phenomenon of modern art. These transformations are as diverse as the patterns of this amazing fabric which has fascinated us for centuries.