Exhibitions
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Exhibitions

Find out about East Gallery’s current and upcoming exhibitions at Norwich University of the Arts. You can also find our past exhibitions in our East GalleryNUA archive.
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Indigo tells the story of the indigo plant. It was used in India as a fabric dye for thousands of years. Blue dyes were once rare and valuable. Indigo was prized for its rich, deep shade and colour-fast qualities. The main figure is Mumtaz Mahal, wife of Emperor Shah Jehan. He built the Taj Mahal in her memory in Agra, a centre for indigo production. Queen Mumtaz wears blue denim jeans, linked with modern western fashion and values. The artists challenge this idea, revealing the true origins of denim fabric in 16th-century India. Indigo was traded throughout the world. It was so costly that it was known as blue gold. A detail of the artwork shows how it was traded for enslaved people. The Singh Twins expose the misery of Indian farmers forced to grow indigo by the British. This reliance on indigo contributed to the Bengal famine of 1770, in which millions of people died.

Slaves of Fashion: New Works by The Singh Twins

1 October 2022 – 22 January 2023 | At Norwich Castle and East Gallery

Exhibition from the internationally-renowned artists The Singh Twins

#WE
ARE
NUA

Top 10 for
Teaching Quality

by the Times and Sunday Times 2022

Top Two UK
Creative Arts
University

by The Complete University Guide 2023

Uni of
the Year

for Student Retention -
The Times and Sunday Times 2020

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