Suzani: The Hidden World Within

by Rikki Quintana June 29, 2022

Square wall hanging featuring concentric circles of hand-embroidered pomegranates from Tajikistan | HoonArts

 

One of the great joys of exploring the Silk Road art of suzani embroidery is learning the deep meaning behind each of the traditional patterns. When Munira Akilova visited Albuquerque in April, we recorded a short video in which she explained every element of the design she created in our Pomegranate Wall Hanging. 

I had hoped to set up the camera, lights, and microphone and capture Munira's interview in high definition and high quality. Well, surprise-surprise, it didn't happen that way! 

Our schedule was jam-packed every day and into the evening. We had to cram Munira's interview into a quick Zoom capture at the very last minute on the morning of her departure, just before we left for the airport. When I played it back later, I realized that side-by-side, looking at each other instead of at the camera, was NOT a good choice. And the profile view is definitely not my best look! 

Even though it's not the high production quality I had hoped for, I'm still delighted to be able to share Munira's explanation with you in our little video. And in case you're wondering, the background music is authentic Tajik folk music made available to HoonArts by a Tajik musician (i.e. no worries about copyright!)

Enjoy!

 

 

 




Rikki Quintana
Rikki Quintana

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