My work is about my lived experiences, and speaks to the realities of being a woman. What I see and feel everyday reflects in my work. I was initiated into women’s work, such as sewing and knitting, in my childhood. Needles, thread, scissors, and clothes: these are all household items surrounding a woman’s life. They are embedded in my memory and have resurfaced as the subject of my work. My experiences as a young girl and now as a woman have affected me psychologically– and I see their emotional implications on my mother too. I weave these emotional complexities stemming from experiences of womanhood into my work using materials and techniques traditionally associated with women’s labour. 

This series of sculptures, including artworks titled “Burst Out”, “Grater”, “Dream Within a Dream”, and “Textures of Dreams”, explores the struggles and aspirations of women within the sphere of domestic responsibilities. Objects such as the pressure cooker and the grater, along with large stretches of woven fabric, evoke the routine and mundane realities of women’s lives. The  overflow of fabric as a consistent visual in my work symbolises women’s aspirations to transcend the grating nature of routine existence, and weave deeply rich and fulfilling lives for themselves. These sculptures reflect on women’s strengths and dreams as they navigate the intricate tapestry of domestic life and personal growth.

My series with the fungi is a study of the intricate textures present on these organisms, and how they blend into their natural environment. From a distance, these crochet replicas too blend into the environments that I photograph them in, and appear as though they are meant to exist there. However, on a closer inspection, one notices that these are not real fungi at all. The delicate knit draws you in much like the intricacies in the texture of fungi draw me in. 

This work– appearing to be something other than itself– engages with questions of camouflage. It both blends in with and stands out from the environment in which it is placed. It ties back to my experiences of womanhood not only through the obvious associations between crocheting and gender, but also through the theme of camouflage. For women, camouflage serves as a tool for self-preservation, and a shield against judgement. It helps us navigate social hierarchies and gain acceptance in society by putting on masks and adopting external personas. At the same time, the act of camouflaging gives us room to flourish. To me, this duality of camouflage finds reflection in the life cycles of fungi, which grow despite the adverse conditions of their surroundings, by blending in with their environments. I derive hope and resilience from these organisms and their propensity to thrive in unfavourable circumstances.