X, Y and Z, 2021
Description :
X, Y and Z reflects a period of uncertainty and self-reliance that followed my move from India to the United States. Leaving the familiarity and protection of home meant confronting the practical realities of earning, surviving, and establishing myself independently within an unfamiliar environment. I began to understand this experience through the metaphor of a cobbler’s anvil, an object repeatedly subjected to pressure and impact yet designed to endure them. Its three projecting forms suggest multiple directions and possibilities, while their convergence into a single body reflects the confusion of navigating competing choices and responsibilities. The work considers struggle not simply as an obstacle, but as a force that gradually shapes us. Like material worked against an anvil, identity is formed through repeated encounters with pressure, uncertainty, and adaptation.
