Secondhand Stories is a pair of responsive sculptures that reflects on the invisible labor of women, particularly within immigrant and refugee communities. Created through a slow, meditative process, the work embodies the repetitive acts of care that often go unseen and unrecognized. Inspired by Saanjhi, a traditional Indian papercutting art form that uses positive and negative space and repeating patterns, the sculptures employ delicate paper forms, fine threads, and shifting shadows to create quiet, layered compositions. One sculpture features five pairs of paper hands that gently bend with gravity while remaining attached, suggesting both intergenerational connection and endurance. The second sculpture responds to the viewer's breath, causing suspended hand forms and their shadows to move almost imperceptibly. Intentionally minimal and nearly invisible, the works invite careful looking, mirroring the quiet labor they seek to make visible. 

Red Gate Gallery 12" x 12" frame, cut paper, red thread Photo credit: Pratima Murali 2026