The Singh Twins are award-winning contemporary British artists with an international reputation, known for their highly detailed, narrative, symbolic and eclectic style which is rooted in Indian miniature painting aesthetics but also draws on the stylistic conventions and symbolic language of other artistic traditions from across the centuries.
Slaves of Fashion is an award-winning body of work which explores empire, colonialism and their legacies through the history of Indian textiles as a global story of conflict, conquest and slavery connected to trade in luxury goods during an age of maritime exploration, colonisation and industrialisation – all driven largely by the commercial interests of competing and expanding European imperial powers at different times from the 15th to the mid-20th century. The artworks also reveal the ancient roots, pioneering craftsmanship, beauty and rich diversity of India’s textiles; their desirability as material objects; their importance as a currency of exchange within a wider lifestyle commodities market; and their influence on global fashion and tastes. Alongside this they chronicle some of the cross-cultural influences (arising from the migration of people, ideas and culture) and key moments in world history intrinsically linked to the story of manufacture and trade in Indian textiles.
Describing their art as Past-Modern, the twin sisters combine hand-painted techniques with modern digital creative technologies to create works in different mediums that explore both historical and current themes around society, politics and culture; demonstrate the contemporary relevance of history and tradition; and challenge Eurocentrism in the artworld and in wider society.
Inspired by their own identity and experience as British Asians, they are especially interested in dialogues around empire, colonialism and the legacies of colonialism. In 2010 they were made Honorary Citizens of Liverpool. In 2011 they each received an MBE from Queen Elizabeth II for ‘services to the Indian miniature tradition of contemporary art’ and, in 2015, were awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Art from the University of Chester for their ‘outstanding contribution to British art’. In 2019 they received an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from the University of Liverpool and in 2020 were awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Art by the University of Wolverhampton for their contribution to diversity in the arts. Their hugely successful exhibition Slaves of Fashion at Firstsite Gallery in 2022 led to their being put forward by public curator nomination to be considered by the jury to represent Britain at the Venice Biennale in 2024.
