The Gul Rugs of Cross Craft Contamination

'The Gul Rugs of Cross Craft Contamination' is a cross between culture and countries particularly an investigation into Pakistani rugs as they are an amalgamation of Pakistani, Persian, Indian and Turkmen traditional designs and motifs.

The Pakistani style is the result of a combination of Persian knowledge, Indian craftsmanship and Turkmen tradition.

Before the partition, Pakistan, India and Bangladesh were one country known as India because of the partition, many Indian/Pakistani craftsmen were separated, this is why the countries are so entangled in terms of visual culture. Sheikh combines these cultures through paper weaving her illustrations in great length to create the effect of these traditional elaborate rug designs. While adding her own adaptations to existing carpet designs through colour. This is the approach Pakistani craftsmen took to create their own carpets/rugs.

Inspired by the Pearl Carpet of Baroda (a traditional Indian rug) Sheikh added pearls and gold detailing to the weaved pieces to create the essence of a precious artwork. Her work is also inspired by the Turkmen ‘Gul’ design (a small individual or repeated emblem) this pattern is very common within Pakistani rugs and Sheikh felt it needed to be showcased to display the different ways it has been adapted through the four countries. While continuing with the theme of weaved squares and adornment.

These works aren't perfectly weaved, they are handmade and hand embellishment and that’s what gives them that handcrafted quality. Calculating the amount of time that took to create these was very important and took 32 hours of weaving. She wanted to represent them as works that embrace the mark of the hand, as human made artworks.