Garlic Moon / Work record
Fontainhas
Photography · Hand embroidery
Handloom cotton · Silver
Edition 1/1
Textile work, 2025
Goa, Archive
01 / Origin
The originating image
The originating photograph was made during a quiet walk through Fontainhas in early 2023. Held in the photographic archive, it became the starting point for a textile work in 2025.
A woman at a doorway, a dog beside a bowl, flowering branches and coloured walls form the scene. Its ordinary gestures give the image its intimacy.
Fontainhas belongs to Garlic Moon’s practice of carrying photographic encounters into cloth through handwork. Across several months of embroidery, a moment held in the image becomes a surface with texture and weight. It can be encountered through installation, display and, when the moment allows, wear.
Fontainhas is Panaji’s historic Latin Quarter. Its narrow streets and houses carry a meeting of Goan domestic and European architectural influences. The photograph records a moment within this inhabited neighbourhood.
Place note · Goa Tourism
02 / Material
Photograph into embroidered surface
Across unbleached handloom cotton, the scene is rebuilt in thread. Dense fields of stitch describe walls, ground and vessels; raised leaves and flowering branches give depth to the surface. The photograph remains legible through the marks of another medium.
The landscape is embroidered by hand across both front panels. The centre opening divides the image: the placement of the scene must be resolved across the two panels so that they read together when fastened. Concealed metal hooks beneath the silver buttons bring the panels together.
03 / Making
Records from the embroidery frame
Time held in the making
The scene is first drawn onto cloth, then developed on the embroidery frame through successive sittings. These studio photographs record the image taking shape, with drawn passages still visible beside completed stitch.
Developed over multiple sittings across several months, the embroidery works between filled architectural fields, fine outlines and raised botanical passages. Changes in the direction and density of stitch give different parts of the image their texture.
Several embroidered studies preceded the finished work. Some were not carried forward. These trials belong to its development history: ways of testing how a photographic scene could be held in thread before arriving at the final composition.
Selected process photographs from the studio record.
04 / Form
The work in full
The work is conceived for installation, display and, when the moment allows, wear. At rest, the image and its stitches can be studied closely. Carried by a body, the scene meets another place through folds and movement.
Supplementary presentation · The Craft Record
An embroidered study on cloth remains from the development of Fontainhas. It forms part of a wider sequence of studies, including trials that were not carried forward. This record may be presented alongside the finished work when required.
Presentation only. The Craft Record is not included in the acquisition.
05 / Collection
Fontainhas
Available by private enquiry.
One photographic encounter, carried through months of handwork into a single textile work. The accompanying photograph and archival card preserve its origin and identity as it enters a collection.
- Work and photographs
- Harsh Nyati
- Edition
- 1/1 · One finished textile work
- Chronology
- Originating photograph, early 2023.
Textile translation, 2025. - Base
- Unbleached handloom cotton
- Embroidery
- Documentary hand embroidery, developed over multiple sittings across several months.
- Buttons
- In-house cast silver, engraved with the Garlic Moon insignia.
- Construction
- Hand embroidery across both front panels. Concealed metal hooks beneath the silver buttons join the front opening.
- Label & fit
- Embroidered label, interior and back.
Full sleeves, classic cuffs, relaxed silhouette.
- Location
- Garlic Moon archive · Goa
- Presentation
- Installation, display and wear
Support and handling considered for the intended use - Acquisition includes
- Garlic Moon Archival Card, stamped and editioned 1/1
Garlic Moon Archival Hanger
Archival Photograph
Garlic Moon Archival Cover for collectible storage - Delivery
- Packing, transport and insurance are arranged for the destination before dispatch. Timing and costs are confirmed privately.
Measurements
- Chest, pit to pit
- 25.5″ / 64.8 cm
- Shoulder width
- 21″ / 53.3 cm
- Front length
- 25″ / 63.5 cm
- Sleeve length
- 22″ / 55.9 cm
Care and presentation
Store in the Garlic Moon Archival Cover with support suited to the weight of the work. Protect the embroidery and silverwork from pressure, snagging and abrasion. Keep out of direct sunlight, away from damp and excessive heat.
Do not wash. Any dry cleaning requires a work-specific assessment; consult Garlic Moon before treatment. Silver may darken naturally over time. Polishing, repair and permanent mounting should also be assessed, with a qualified textile conservator involved where needed.
The mount, lighting and duration of display should be planned together. Handling and wear should respond to the work’s condition.
Handover and future presentation
Condition documentation, care instructions and acquisition or exhibition loan arrangements are agreed privately before handover. The stamped and editioned 1/1 Archival Card accompanies the work.
Future presentations and changes in custody may enter the continuing record with the collector’s agreement. The supplementary Craft Record remains a separate presentation material and is not included in the acquisition.
€2,100
Acquisition price · Fontainhas, edition 1/1