Shelly Jyoti’s Indigo: The Blue Gold II (2008–2026) Opens at Bikaner House Tracing Histories of Migration, Memory and Regeneration
New Delhi : Artist Shelly Jyoti’s exhibition Indigo: The Blue Gold II (2008–2026) opened at the CAA Building, Bikaner House, New Delhi, bringing together eighteen years of artistic engagement with indigo as colour, material, history and memory. Curated by Prof. Lisa Trivedi, Professor of History at Hamilton College, New York, the exhibition traces the journey of indigo from ancient textile traditions and colonial plantations to histories of forced labour, migration, displacement and cultural regeneration.
Supported by Good Earth Heritage Foundation as Patron Partner and the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) as Knowledge Partner, the exhibition brings together works created between 2008 and 2026, reflecting Jyoti’s sustained engagement with the social, political and cultural histories embedded in textiles.
The event was graced by Smt. Tara Gandhi Bhattacharjee — Chairperson, National Gandhi Museum & Rajmata Shubhangini Raje Gaekwad — Chancellor, The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda as the Chief Guest. The evening also witnessed the presence of eminent personalities including Anuradha Kumra, Sushma Bhal, Ratan Kaul, Sudha Dhingra, Princess Anjanaraje Gaekwad, Abha Singh, Ratan Kaul along with leading artists, cultural patrons, diplomats and distinguished guests from Delhi’s art and cultural fraternity.
Jyoti’s early works examine indigo cultivation in India, the exploitation of farmers and Mahatma Gandhi’s Champaran Satyagraha. Her inquiry subsequently expanded to explore indigo’s global circulation as the coveted “blue gold”, connecting colonial trade with slavery, indentured labour and the displacement of communities across continents. Through this evolving body of work, the artist considers how historical experiences continue to shape contemporary identities and collective memory.
Exhibition Details
Exhibition: Indigo: The Blue Gold II (2008–2026)
Artist: Shelly Jyoti
Curator: Prof. Lisa Trivedi, Professor of History, Hamilton College, New York
Dates: 27 October – 1 November 2026
Public Viewing: 28 October – 1 November 2026, 11 AM–7 PM
Venue: CAA Building, Ground and First Floors, Bikaner House, New Delhi
Patron Partner: Good Earth Heritage Foundation
Knowledge Partner: Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA)
The exhibition is open to the public from 28 October to 01 November 2026, from 11 AM to 7 PM at the CAA Building Ground and First Floor, Bikaner House, New Delhi.
At the heart of the exhibition is Indigo: Migration Through Time, Jyoti’s new body of work for 2026. Structured around three interconnected movements—Faceless Journeys, Displaced Ecologies and Unresolved Geographies—the series explores migration as both physical displacement and the transmission of cultural knowledge, memory and identity across generations.
Faceless Journeys reflects on the experiences of enslaved, indentured and migrant communities whose labour contributed to the global movement of indigo, drawing attention to the individual lives often absent from written histories. Displaced Ecologies explores seeds, roots, plants and trees as metaphors for communities that adapt to unfamiliar landscapes while carrying their histories and traditions forward. In Unresolved Geographies, boundaries between body, landscape and movement dissolve into abstraction, positioning indigo as an expansive field of memory and consciousness.
Working with hand-spun and handwoven khadi, natural indigo dyeing, Ajrakh resist block printing, embroidery and mirror work, Jyoti employs recurring motifs of ships, charkhas, fish, globes, faceless figures, seeds and trees. These elements connect personal histories with wider movements of people, knowledge and cultural traditions. Her sustained collaboration with Ajrakh master artisans of Kutch is central to this practice, positioning textile as both a witness to historical experiences and a living archive of inherited knowledge.
Speaking about the evolution of her practice, Shelly Jyoti said, “Over eighteen years, my engagement with indigo has evolved from exploring the exploitation of indigo farmers and Gandhi’s Champaran Satyagraha to examining the global histories of colonial trade, slavery, indentured labour and human displacement. With Indigo: Migration Through Time, I am looking at migration not only as the physical movement of people, but also as the passage of memory, cultural knowledge and identity across generations.”
Through this body of work, Indigo: The Blue Gold II (2008–2026) positions textile as more than a material or decorative medium. It becomes a means of examining histories of exploitation and resistance while reflecting on the resilience of communities, the movement of cultural traditions and the possibilities of renewal.
An Outreach Programme Around Indigo
The exhibition will be accompanied by an outreach programme titled “Indigo as a Living Classroom”, designed to extend the exhibition’s enquiry through conversations, demonstrations, student projects and guided interpretation.
The programme includes:
Opening Reception: 27 October, 5:30–9:00 PM
Artist–Curator Conversation with School Students: 28 October, 11:00 AM–2:00 PM
Curator + Artist Gallery Walk: 28 October, 4:00–6:00 PM
Panel Discussion – “Indigo on Motion”: 29 October, 2:00–4:00 PM, followed by tea
Talk and Ajrakh Workshop with Master Craftsman Juned M. Khatri: 30 October, 11:00 AM–5:00 PM, followed by tea
Gallery Walk with Artist Shelly Jyoti – “Reading Indigo Through Time”: 1 November, 2:00 PM onwards
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