Imprinting a History: Salt Cosmologies by Hylozoic/Desires for Somerset House
At Selvedge magazine, we are always asking, how was it made? Exploring the intricacies of a textile’s production adds depth to its story, revealing layers of meaning beyond its surface.
For Somerset House’s annual Spring commission, Salt Cosmologies, Hylozoic/Desires and Somerset House enlisted London-based design studio TiiPoi to fabricate a textile installation, working in collaboration with Bangalore-based Tharangini Studio, who created the block-printed panels. Together, they played a crucial role in bringing this vision to life. Conceived by Hylozoic/Desires - the cross-disciplinary collective of Himali Singh Soin and David Soin Tappeser - this multi-dimensional project examines the complex histories of Britain’s imperial salt monopoly in India. At its centre is namak halal/namak haram, an 80-metre-long installation reimagining the colonial Inland Customs Line, a once-formidable 2,500-mile barrier erected to control the salt trade during British rule.
Himali Singh Soin and David Soin Tappeser of Hylozoic/Desires, in front of the Salt Cosmologies installation 'namak halal/namak haram', 2025.
Himali Singh Soin & David Soin Tappeser of Hylozoic/Desires, alongside the founders and artisans of Tharangini Studio.
The artistic vision of namak halal/namak haram comes to life through the expertise of Tharangini Studio, a renowned hand block-printing atelier. For decades, Tharangini has safeguarded India’s artisanal heritage, championing sustainability and traditional printing techniques. In collaboration with Studio Tiipoi, the studio meticulously crafted fabric panels using organic cotton and vegetable dyes derived from the very plants that once formed the colonial hedge.
Natural dyes and raw materials used in the production and printing process.
Over several months, artisans hand-dyed and printed more than 500 meters of fabric, using intricately carved wood blocks to imprint botanical drawings. This design represents the thorny hedge that once stretched 4,500 km across India, near the salt flats. To reinforce the project’s themes of extraction, control, and resistance, the fabric was fixed with salt, infusing it with a poetic materiality.
Hand carved wooden blocks, featuring botanical and historical designs.
Each panel underwent multiple stages of production - hand-grinding natural ingredients in a traditional stone grinder, dip-dyeing to achieve the perfect shade, and carefully layering prints to build a rich textile narrative. More than a historical recreation, the result is a powerful reimagining of how materials embody memory, resistance, and meaning.
Hand block printing the decorative emblems onto the fabric.
Tharangini’s printing mastery is evident in the contrasting designs on each side of the installation. One side features colonial-era botanical illustrations arranged in a rigid grid, reflecting the bureaucratic precision with which the British administration attempted to control India’s natural resources. In stark contrast, the opposite side disrupts this order with chaotic, disorderly stampings of the phrase Salt Issued, inspired by historical tax receipts.
Printing of the disordered termite emblem, which features on the rear of the fabric.
This visual dissonance culminates in an overwhelming print of a termite emblem, symbolising the natural forces that eventually reclaimed the hedge, erasing its presence from history. The installation’s title, namak halal/namak haram - meaning ‘loyal to salt’ and ‘betrayer of salt’ - captures the hedge’s dual role as both a tool of colonial exploitation and a site of defiance, where resistance found ways to cross the divide.
The fully installed namak halal/namak haram at Somerset House, London.
Through their craftsmanship and deep-rooted commitment to ecological and ethical practices, the artisans of Tharangini Studio have transformed Salt Cosmologies into a compelling historical dialogue. Their work challenges viewers to reconsider how materials, labour, and history intersect in the present. The voices of those once silenced by colonial oppression are now imprinted onto fabric, ensuring that these narratives continue to be seen, felt, and remembered.
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Further Information:
Salt Cosmologies is on until 27th April 2025, in The Edmond J. Safra Fountain Court, Somerset House, London.
Tharangini Studio:
TiiPoi:
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Image Credits:
Lead Image: Preparing the termite printed fabric, Copyright Tharangini Studio.
Image 1 : Copyright of Somerset house and Hylozoic/Desires
Images 2 - 6 : Copyright Tharangini Studio
Image 7: Salt Cosmologies by HylozoicDesires at Somerset House. PA Media for Somerset House
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