art is what you make it – Kimchi and Justice

brianwferry:

Kashmir photographed for Condé Nast Traveler.

Top photo: Mr. Ali Mohammad Beigh, perhaps the most renowned Kashmiri craftsman in fine needlework / embroidery called “sozni.” He works with silk threads on pashmina shawls. Each sozni will take him almost 3 years to finish (!!) and they are very highly valued.

I spent a morning in Mr. Beigh’s studio, photographing him and watching his work. He described it as a meditation. He sits and embroiders the sozni for 8 hours every day – amazing.

Below that: an embroidered sozni from Beigh’s workshop; silk threads in the workshop; brushes in the workshop of Mr. Maqbool, a local paper maché artisan; painted walls (locally referred to as “Naquashi”) in a 17th century shrine in Srinagar.

All photos: Brian Ferry