Imagine compressing wool for so long, and under such pressure, that every layer of dye is locked in place, then drawing a blade through the result to find that the solid mass was hiding rooms. This is how Sagarika Sundaram works, and the results fill Reservoir, her first museum exhibition, at the Henry Moore Institute in Leeds until 10 January 2027.
Sagarika Sundaram. Detail from Dancer, 2026. Dyed wool, steel. Photo: Rob Harris.
Each sculpture begins with hand-dyed wool, layered and compressed again and again, with more dye added between rounds, until the loose fibres bind into felt. Felt has no warp and weft. Its fibres grip one another in every direction, producing a dense, continuous body with a mind of its own, and it very probably predates woven cloth. People have been shaping wool since sheep were first domesticated around 11,000 years ago, and felt still forms the walls of Central Asian yurts. Sundaram takes this ancient technology of shelter and turns it towards sculpture, using pressure and friction to build forms by hand...
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Image Credits:
Lead: Artist Sagarika Sundaram sits with her work Blue Mountain 2026 in her exhibition Reservoir at Henry Moore Institute. Courtesy the artist, Henry Moore Institute and Alison Jacques, London. Photo: Rob Harris
All further images as credited in captions.