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Brigitte Singh first came to Sanganer, Jaipur’s hand-blockprinting centre, as a student of miniatures three decades ago. Today, the visual almanac of her work gives us a truly alternate way to read medieval and modern civilisational encounters—through the evolution and transmission of motifs and craft techniques over centuries.
Brigitte Singh’s exquisite work with blockprints is a form of re-enacted design history, rendered in visual rather than textual terms. Uncovering and reaching down to the purer forms, to the composite aesthetic of the 18th century, it offers a singular source of access to a seminal epoch in design.
This volume illustrates how Singh has approached her craft with an archaeological devotion, peeling off dusty layers from the long-obscured story of blockprinting in the subcontinent. Her work yields a truly Indian aesthetic, fully formed and yet open to influences, full of grand narratives but so dense with detail and meaning that in every telling, something new and essential is revealed both to the raconteur and the audience.
This book has been enhanced with five augmented reality videos, each linked to a photograph marked with the ► symbol. These videos—available on the BooksPlus mobile app—document the block carving process; the printing workshop; Brigitte Singh narrating the story of Jaipur print; the stitching process; and Brigitte Singh speaking about her creative journey. To play the videos, please follow the instructions given on the copyright page.
With contributions by Laila Tyabji, Jasleen Dhamija, Rosemary Crill, Jacqueline Thomé Jacqué, Michel Biehn, Sheela Reddy, Chandramani Singh, Sunil Menon and Aleta Bartel.
Bishwadeep Moitra is an independent graphic designer, photographer and a writer–editor. He has worked in the news media for the past 25 years as a visual journalist, launching and re-launching major magazines and newspapers in India. In 1995, Moitra was among the founding members of Outlook, Asia’s most influential weekly news magazine, and served as its Executive Editor till 2016. He was also the creative chief of all other magazines of the Outlook group, from travel to personal finance. He is best known for designing magazine covers—he has designed close to 1500 published magazine covers across genres; as well as many illustrated books. Brigitte Singh: Printress of the Mughal Garden is his maiden venture as anthology editor of an illustrated book. He has lectured frequently on design and visual story-telling at the IITs and other universities in India. Moitra travels widely, photographing independent and commissioned projects alike. He is an advanced practitioner of hatha yoga for the past 15 years.
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