Embodied Resistance
These works examine the embodied weight of systemic oppression, tracing how caste, gender, and labor are inscribed onto everyday life—revealing the resilience of those made invisible and inviting viewers to reckon with the hierarchies that shape our shared world.
Did you know there are over 25,000 subcastes in India, each reinforcing a complex system of social stratification that continues to shape lived realities today?
Breast Tax
This project explores the oppressive caste and gender dynamics in 18th–19th century Travancore, Kerala, through the lens of the Mulakkaram (breast tax). It highlights the powerful story of Nangeli, a woman from the Ezhava community who defied this unjust system through a radical act of protest. Her sacrifice became a symbol of resistance against caste-based exploitation and the control of women’s bodies.
Cast(e) in India
This project investigates the hidden intersections between caste, labor, and urban infrastructure through the lens of manhole covers in New York City. Drawing connections between global systems of oppression and the materiality of public space, the work foregrounds the often-erased presence of Dalit labor in the manufacturing of these covers—many of which are produced in India under exploitative conditions. By relocating these objects from functional anonymity to sites of artistic inquiry, the project challenges viewers to confront how caste operates beyond borders, embedded in the very ground we walk on.
