NIFT Graduate Garima Goel Exhibits Textile Art at Australian High Commission
Textile artist and NIFT Delhi graduate Garima Goel recently showcased her contemporary wool creations at the Australian High Commission in New Delhi. The presentation was held as part of The Merino Circle, an initiative organized by global wool authority The Woolmark Company, which featured Goel alongside leading designers working with the natural fibre.
Goel participated in the event representing Emot, her contemporary textile art studio that approaches wool as a medium for expressing human emotion. Her studio produces a curated collection of handmade artworks, tactile tapestries, wearable pieces, jewellery, and collectible objects designed to bring warmth and texture into everyday life.
Rooted in ancient felt-making traditions and India’s rich heritage of wool craftsmanship, Goel’s work explores the intersection of emotion, spirituality, transformation, and material. Rather than illustrating feelings literally, she allows emotional states to shape the making process, combining layers of natural wool fibres, embroidery, beads, organic forms, and colour into a physical language.
Goel explained that her artistic journey began from a need to slow down in a fast-paced environment. "In a world where we are constantly connected to everything around us, yet increasingly disconnected from ourselves, I found myself searching for a slower way to understand my inner self and my feelings," Goel said. While she had long dreamed of becoming an artist, years of studying and working with textiles eventually led her back to her childhood instincts to create art that expresses what words cannot.
"Wool is warm, soft and imperfect. There is something deeply human about that imperfection, and it allows me to explore emotions in a very tactile way," Goel noted. She added that the slow process of crafting each piece became a meditative practice. "Working with wool taught me that making something slowly can also be a way of listening to yourself," she said. "The process gives emotions the time and space to reveal themselves."
Up close, Goel’s tactile creations reveal detailed layers of fibres, embroidery, texture, beads, and colour. From a distance, the compositions resemble abstract landscapes or imagined terrains. Through her practice, Goel seeks to create conditions for viewers to pause, reflect, and reconnect with their own inner landscapes.
