I decided to make this mantlepiece in tribute to all this time ive been spending indoors. Because of the lockdown access to art supplies is very limited at the moment and so this whole piece is made with things I found lying around at home.
I built the structure of this piece using scrap packaging I found around the house like medicine boxes and some cardboard bits. I then layered over this structure with newspaper and glue.
The motifs that are drawn all over this paper-mâché mantlepiece are all the things that have been keeping me sane and making me happy through this challenging time. Heres a couple of them:
- All the beautiful books I've been reading lately have really helped me stay afloat.
- Little birdies that visit my house every day
- Lush mangoes and grapes from a local farmer - Pakheeza is a beautiful film from 1972 that I watched recently it has the most divine imagery!
- My parent's beautiful hands, one on each side of the piece; it's so wonderful to be around them after soo long and just hold their hands
- The water body that my balcony faces, and the curtain in my living room that's always fluttering
- The beautiful morning light that floods my home every day
- Watching my parent's plants grow
- And of course, my quarantine self tattoo that surprises me each time I look down at my leg :)
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