I Portray Indian Women Through My Intricate Mermaid Papercuts

I am Parth Kothekar from Ahmedabad (India). For more than 2 years now I have been experimenting with, and learning from, papercuts. In order to give myself challenges I come up with thematic series’ of artworks from time to time.

This time I wished to portray the uniqueness of Indian women. I wished to display the supramundane in their apparently mundane lifestyle. The Indian women is on her feet from as early as 5 in the morning every single day. How was I to display their innocence, their struggle, their freedom and the depth of their silence?

Mermaids have always fascinated me for various reasons, and nothing could capture my vision of Indian women better than a mermaid. Though half human she remains constrained to water. When she's above the water for us to see, does she breath or quietly suffocates? I wondered. Though she can't walk on land, can she be outdone in her deep, still and salty waters? Aesthetically it is the intricacy of their scales that appeal to me.

In order to capture the ‘Indianness’ I made use of a cultural motif that is as ancient as it is modern - the saree. It is traced back to Indus Valley Civilization dated 2800 BC.

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