Skirt c. early 20th century

This is a skirt made by Kachin people, and it now lives at the Minneapolis Institute of Art. I’m really drawn to the way the fabric is worked, the way the colours shift and bleed into each other. The whole thing feels so handmade, so human. What strikes me first is the rusty red hue, which is then divided by a vertical dark brown rectangle. It’s pretty bold in its simplicity, but that colour makes it feel warm and inviting, like aged iron. I like how the patterns are all about texture rather than perfect shapes. You see that repeated cross-like motif scattered across the surface? They’re not stamped out uniformly. They seem hand-stitched, giving the whole piece a lovely, intimate vibe. Thinking about other artists who embrace that kind of tactile process, someone like Sheila Hicks comes to mind, with her woven sculptures that are just bursting with energy and life. In the end, this skirt is a reminder that art isn't about perfection, it’s about the beauty of the process, the story of the hand, and the soul that goes into making something.