Introduction

This 2019 Sikhlens calendar features artwork by The Singh Twins, inspired by a series of new works titled Slaves of Fashion which was launched at National Museums Liverpool in January 2018. The series, which took four years to create, explores how the history of Indian textiles is a global story of Empire, conflict, conquest, colonialism, slavery and luxury in its connects to contemporary debates around ethical trade and responsible consumerism.

For the calendar, The Singh Twins have selected imagery from the Slaves of Fashion artworks which exemplify how India's pioneering and rich heritage of manufacture and trade in fabrics over the centuries relate to Punjab (as the birthplace of Sikhism and Sikh heritage). Each of the twelve calendar pages from January to December focuses on a specific theme or type of fabric, accompanied by brief textual interpretations. Collectively, these offer insights into Punjab's importance in the story of Indian textiles and the ancient merchant routes between east and west - including the exchange of ideas, cross-cultural influences, artistic innovations as well as the political conflicts and power struggles that impacted the global markets for Indian textiles.

Drawing on techniques employed for the Slaves of Fashion series itself, the artworks featured in the 2019 Sikhlens calendar represent a new direction in the Singh Twins' creative practice, combining hand-painted elements in the traditional Indian miniaturist style, for which they are best known, with digitally created imagery and archival material. Some of this archival material (comprising historical engravings and prints) has been redrawn by hand or within the computer (for example, the figures depicted within the medallion frames on the February and May pages). Whilst some of the hand-painted elements (including the depiction of embroidered silk fabric and the phulkari designs on the March and August pages for example) represent artistic interpretations of actual textiles from museum collections photographed by the artists, or else, uncovered in books and publications during their initial research for 'Slaves of Fashion'.

The main image on the December page, is from a tryptic of digital, fabric lightbox artworks by The Singh Twins - as commissioned by Royal Collection Trust as interpreters for the exhibition 'Eastern Encounters: Four Centuries of Paintings and Manuscripts from the Indian Subcontinent', which ran at The Queen's Gallery, Buckingham Palace from June to October 2018. The tryptic, which represents some of the complex, interconnected political narratives and shared Indo-British history that inextricably link Empire and Indian textiles, has since been incorporated into the 'Slaves of Fashion' series.

THE SINGH TWINS are British artists with an international reputation whose contribution to contemporary art has been recognised at the highest level. In 2010 they were made Honorary Citizens of their home city of Liverpool. In 2011 they were each awarded an MBE from HRH Queen Elizabeth II and in 2015, Honorary Doctorates of Fine Art from the University of Chester. The following year they were recipients of the Asian Achievers Awards for Media, Arts and Culture. Their art is in private and public collections worldwide. Amongst some of their most well-known public commissions are two paintings celebrating Liverpool's 800th birthday and status as European Capital of Culture in 2008, a symbolic portrait of Maharaja Duleep Singh (created for the National Museums Scotland) and 'EnTWINed' (commissioned by the Museum of London).

A road trip to India as teenagers introduced them to the Indian Miniature Painting tradition which - together with the prejudice they experienced when trying to develop the style as their personal artistic language - has been a major driving force behind their art. Describing their style as 'Past - Modern' (as opposed to 'Post Modern') the sisters combine ancient Eastern and Western artistic languages with modern digital technologies to address contemporary social, cultural and political issues. Their award-winning work, which challenges and redefines generally accepted, Eurocentric perceptions of heritage and identity in art and society was cited by eminent English art historian Simon Schama in his BBC documentary series 'The Face of Britain' as representing the artistic face of modern Britain.

Although more widely known for their paintings, the Twins are published illustrators, writers, filmmakers and designers. Their films, titled 'Nineteen Eighty-Four and the Via Dolorosa Project' (a short documentary about one of their most famous political works depicting the Storming of the Golden Temple in 1984) and 'The Making of Liverpool' (an animation film) have both won awards. Beyond this, their ongoing interest to push the boundaries of their creative practice has led them to develop mixed medium and large-scale work using creative digital technologies, and to collaborate with top Indian fashion designer, Tarun Tahiliani - whose 2015 Spring Summer Collection was inspired by their artwork.

Radio and Television appearances include interviews for the BBC's Womens' Hour, Mid Week, Front Row and Belief, CBC's Here And Now, the Granada TV documentary 'Singh Out Sisters' and the BBC art series 'The Face of Britain'. An independently commissioned Arts Council film about their work, 'Alone Together', received 'The Best Film on Art' prize at the 2001 Asolo International Film Festival.

In 2002, The Twins were appointed official artists in residence for the Manchester Commonwealth Games. Past exhibitions include solo shows hosted by London's National Portrait Gallery, Liverpool's Walker Art Gallery, National Museums Scotland and the National Gallery of Modern Art, Mumbai and National Gallery of Modern Art, Delhi when, in 2002, they were the only British artist (besides Henry Moore) to have been offered a solo show at this, one of India's foremost venues for Contemporary Art. In 2016, The Singh Twins were extended a special invitation to participate in the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition and their public commission for the Museum of London, which offers their personal response to two famous Victorian paintings on the theme of the 'Indian Mutiny' or 'First War of Indian Independence', was selected for Tate Britain's 'Artist and Empire' touring exhibition.

Their latest exhibition 'Slaves of Fashion: New Works by The Singh Twins,' which attracted over 100,000 visitors (at its premiere run in Liverpool alone), was profiled in one of the regional documentaries commissioned for the BBC's 'Civilisations' series and was shortlisted for the 'Eastern Eye Arts Culture and Theatre Awards'. As a special feature of the exhibition, the Singh Twins developed an augmented reality app in collaboration with Liverpool immersive technologies company, Draw and Code which was part funded by The British Council.

Future projects include plans to develop a 'Singh Twins' label for high end, fashion accessories and home furnishings.