| Description: | Kalyani Pramod Balakrishnan holds a diploma in textile design and lives in Madras, India. She works for a number of international companies and owns a boutique called Rhapsody, where she sells patchwork and appliqué textiles. Through her business, Kalyani is able to offer employment to other women.
In creating this piece, Kalyani worked on the theme of everyday survival using images of work and activity. She has thought of survival in terms of activity, as opposed to feelings. Her work is important to her. By work, she means not only her profession as a textile designer but also her daily routine as a mother and housewife. Although Kalyani hates routine, she believes that people are forced into it, especially women.
To Kalyani, routine means doing everything for everybody around her first, before making time for herself. She has learnt to cope with it, though, and to her, that is the very art of survival. For that reason, all the figures in the quilt are herself, except for the dancer. It is through dancing and music that Kalyani has found inspiration. The piece shows Kalyani in her day to day life: doing housework, shopping, spending time with her daughter, and working. All the images merge with each other because that is how her days are: all activities are combined with each other. |
