CARPET DIEM

“My new work ‘Winged Wāri’ emerged as the devastating floods swept across Nepal in August 2026. As I watched the news from afar, I was in close contact with my weaving partners in Kathmandu – my thoughts consumed by concern for their safety. Unable to help in any meaningful physical way, I turned to the quiet, instinctive act of drawing and making as I processed the devastating news.

I began creating this work from that place of worry and uncertainty. I developed the textile pieces in conversation with my weaving partners, and these pieces became a shared response to what was unfolding. Together, we named the work ‘Winged Wāri’ drawing from a Nepali word associated with water and rivers.

Reflecting on the lives, animals, and landscapes lost, I layer handcrafted wool and silk textiles from Nepal with embroidered deep-blue mirror to create a fragmented, floating organism – part moth, part flower, part river, part spirit. It appears suspended between forms: something broken apart, yet still becoming. The mirror reflects the viewer and the surrounding world, creating space for transformation and remembrance.

Winged Wāri is an artwork born from within a moment of crisis – from fear, uncertainty, and a powerful need to process grief while offering a vibrant gesture of connection and hope. It is both a response to what has been lost and an act of continuing: to weave our story, communicate across cultures, endure disaster, and imagine what can emerge from what remains.”