Internationally acclaimed artists The Singh Twins are the latest to visit Norwich Castle in the gallery's impressive calendar of shows.
Identical twins Amrit Singh and Rabindra Kaur Singh are behind the Liverpool-based single-entity duo, The Singh Twins.
Their bright, large-scale works are a narrative of empire and colonialism too important to miss at their new show, Slaves of Fashion.
Rosy Gray, curator at Norwich Castle Museum and Art Gallery, says the exhibition is "an exploration of the history of colonialism, empire, enslavement and of trade.
"It is through the lens of the Indian historic textile trade."
More than 20 works are accompanied by objects and 2D acquisitions from the twins' extensive personal collection and the Norfolk Museum Service collection, alongside five films and the twins preparatory artwork - giving visitors the opportunity to learn about the twins' practice.
Hand-painted elements are combined digitally with scanned imagery, before being printed on to fabric and placed on a lit backing. The result is sensationally intricate.
Interconnected ideas run through the show via the main thread of trade.
Each work tells a story of a different fabric which has been extensively researched.
One example being denim, which is explored in Indigo: The Colour of India, a product known as 'blue gold'.
The Singh Twins said: “Issues around shared heritage and identity which challenge generally accepted notions of cultural ownership and the perceived divide between East and West and past and present, have always been central to our art.
"Our aim in working with Norfolk Museums Collections for our Slaves of Fashion exhibition and newly commissioned artwork, was to explore what seemingly unrelated objects from different periods and cultures reveal about the story of Empire and colonialism and how we are all connected to it both historically and today.”
Norfolk Museums Services commissioned a new piece for the show, which will now be held in their permanent collection.
The piece, vastly intricate and meticulously detailed, explores an artistic and cultural exchange within a jigsaw format and featuring a narrative poem created by the twins.
Norwich Castle has been working with the twins for over three years, exploring the Norfolk Museum Services' collection.
This resulted in around 50 objects from the collection being referenced in the piece.
The twins, who received an MBE from the Queen for their impact to contemporary art, featured in Grayson Perry's Art Club show on Channel 4.
The piece, which was shown in Art Club's Manchester show - a response to the Covid-19 pandemic - is on display in the Norwich show.
Describing their work as "past-modern", The Singh Twins combine a vibrant, detailed and precise aesthetic, with reference to the events of history affecting modern-day, through research and archival objects.
The result is a truly awe-inspiring and mesmerising exhibition.
The Singh Twins: Slaves of Fashion is on display at Norwich Castle Museum and Art Gallery and East GalleryNUA until January 22.
It is supported by the East Anglia Art Fund, Friends of the Norwich Museums and Norfolk Contemporary Art Society.
Entry to the exhibition across both venues is included with admission to Norwich Castle.
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