About the artwork:
    This artwork belongs to a series exploring themes of individuality, societal expectations, and the intersection of the natural and constructed world. The background, a vintage ledger, serves as a record of transactions—a nod to the commodification of value, including a woman’s worth in patriarchal structures. The bold coral surrounding the figure embodies protection and fertility, juxtaposing the figure’s modern, self-assured stance. The snail shell at her feet grounds her in cycles of growth and introspection, while the fish above her reinforces the transformative journey. Together, these elements create a layered narrative, questioning how identity is shaped within the constraints of tradition and expectation.
    ARTIST BIO Born in 1975 in India, Bakula Nayak completed an undergraduate degree in architecture and a master’s of science in communication design from the Pratt Institute, Manhattan. After a long career in the U.S., she moved back to her hometown of Bangalore. With an impassioned curiosity for discovering beauty in the mundane, and a self-taught prowess for line, symbol and narrative composition, Bakula began her journey as an artist in 2013. 
    Bakula weaves together her personal histories with those of others and her work engages with themes of motherhood, reproductive justice, and equality, offering a nuanced commentary on the female experience. She explores themes of synergy between the individual and the collective, processes of art- and meaning-making, the experiences of women as well as contemporary cultural and psycho-social situations. 
    Recently living in Pittsburgh, she has exhibited her work extensively in India, with additional shows in Germany, Canada, and Singapore.
     
     
    “Believe you can & you are halfway there”

    Subscribe to our newsletter To Recieve Updates

      The Latest
      • The Matchbox by Usawa #10

        North-East Special by Matchbox x The Little Journal of North East India

      • rice fields after heartbreak

        Grief, memory, and loss rooted in ritual silence

      • The Woman I Aspire to Be

        The Woman I Aspire to Be: A Feminist Reflection on Age

      • Deobar

        A sensory journey through an Assamese family's Sunday rituals

      You May Also Like
      • Prabhat, as he was Called by Roxy Arora

        Several weeks before I was to enter holy matrimony my grandmother, Ammi and her

      • Three Poems By Lina Krishnan

        I am who I am I will see people’s faces change When I tell

      • Spring Song (haibun) By Vidya Shankar

        It was the first time I was stepping out of the house after the hysterectomy