Nā́ri
In Sanskrit, nā́rī means woman, wife, female, or an object regarded as feminine but can also mean sacrifice. For the project nā́rī Malik researched villages in India that have small communities of women who use fabric and embroidery as a way of gaining financial freedom. She traveled to Lucknow, Jaipur, and Chamkaur Sahib where she photographed and interviewed several women from these communities. By gaining access to these individuals she was able to ask them about their thoughts on misogynistic structures of Indian society and about their harsh economic and social realities.
From these conversations, Malik decided to create artworks where the women embroidered on top of their portraits that were shot by Malik and printed on the fabric used in the women’s specific communities. These artistic collaborations subvert the idea of the artist as the main producer by giving each woman her own creative entity within her own commercial craft. It also engages the problem of representation in portrait photography as addressed by giving the women control over their image. By traveling to these women’s private spaces Malik seeks an understanding that is only possible with her presence and collaboration that creates a connection between her and her subjects shared language of art; by listening, Malik tries to learn the true meaning of nā́rī.