Oremerin c. 20th century

This Oremerin cloth was made in Nigeria by a Yoruba artist with indigo dye on cotton. The regular, repeating blocks have the satisfying quality of a system. Yet each block contains these slightly different patterns, created using a resist dying technique. It’s a lot like painting in some ways; there is the plan, the under-drawing, the mixing of colours, then the layering of washes. I love that you can see the hand of the artist in each square. The blue dye has a depth and richness that's really absorbing. Notice how some of the darker indigo areas seem almost black while others are a faded, lighter hue, like a well-worn pair of jeans. In the lower left of the cloth there is a block filled with a grid, but instead of perfectly straight lines, they are slightly wonky, like a skewed graph. The lines vary in thickness and the space between them is irregular, creating an organic, hand-made feeling. This textile reminds me of the work of Anni Albers, whose weaving embraced a similar language of geometric abstraction. It’s another example of how the best art is about embracing imperfection, variation, and the unpredictable nature of the handmade.