in-healing

2016

white cotton saree, honey, handkerchieves, water, body, labor

3 hours durational performance

'girls only: India', ministry of new, mumbai

Preemptive of an intense period of geographical change in my life, the site-specific performance In-healing constitutes a cathartic opportunity to release myself from the past as well as any deep wounds or specific histories that might cast their shadows forward. Much akin to homespun healing methods to treat a burn, graze or scratch my quest to medicate and revive the gallery floor through the application of a new epidermis, a skin crafted from pure and basic domestic materials: honey, a white saree and personal handkerchiefs. Extraordinarily private belongings, handkerchiefs absorb the detritus of the everyday, and for me it represents a metaphor for skin, absorbing the physical and emotional scars life throws upon us. Engaging with a number of traditional rural as well as urban Indian women's routines of drying cow dungs, preparing Papad and laundering clothes and linen, my act of cleansing, rinsing and thus rejuvenate these handkerchiefs in the honey, before laying them out onto the flattened saree to dry. Consistently meshing my own body with the repetitive practice of physically washing fabric, I stand in for the anonymous woman toiling away to fulfill her responsibilities towards her family as well as humanity’s basic needs.