Monisha Kumar

Monisha Kumar, ‘thank you for keeping me warm’ (detail) 2023. oil on saree fabric, enamel on wood panel and found objects. Mixed-media installation. Installation dimensions variable. Painting 58 x 35 cm Table 55 x 55 x 45.7cm. Image courtesy Monisha Kumar.

‘Thank you for keeping me warm’ is an installation piece that invites people to sit and commune, thinking about personal histories and the global colonial context of tea. TYFKMW explores (fragmented) identity and queer platonic friendship. My artwork is an attempt capture moments of comfort within that ‘in-betweenness.’ The uses my mum’s saree as a surface as a archive of fragmented heritage. The table is painted gold, memorialises tea’s colonial history, as well as personal narratives and lines of poetry.

Instagram: @moni_.sha