Uma Rani Iyli

Lives and works in Portola Valley, CA

Artist statement

I’m a multidisciplinary artist based in the San Francisco Bay Area for over 30 years, originally from Bangalore, India. My practice currently focuses on fiber arts and explores diasporic identity, family heritage, migration, cultural memory, women’s labor and histories through fiber, using repurposed silk threads sourced from sari looms in India. Through meditative, time-based processes of wrapping and repetition, I create works that honor both visible and invisible labor while bridging traditional craft with contemporary art. Each line that crosses another echoes the traditions of weaving and storytelling from my heritage. Statement: Winding and Unwinding Series Spinning is a meditative process that encourages the act of remembering and therefore re-living. Embracing the practices of my ancestors is always at the forefront of my work in my journey to connection my past and present. Having grown up in India’s traditional caste-based society, I belong to the weaver’s community. With that identity, I reference weaving, stitching and pattern making in my work. I return annually to India to visit family and reconnect with my heritage. As an artist, this connection often reveals itself through material and process. During each visit, I gather the leftover colorful thread from Sari Looms directly from the weaver on small spools to re-purpose in my studio in San Francisco. I also bring back gold thread as it serves as a continuum in material and color to elements of my Indian...

Artwork