A closed hand, fingers curled in tight like a fist about to open. Near the base, the fingers carry the fine detail of mehndi lines, marking it as a bride’s hand, delicate even in its strength. A dark hollow sits at the center of the palm, like a small nest waiting to be filled.

Below, the hand melts into a bird’s foot, feathers layered and textured down to the base, touched with soft blue at the edges. Two forms become one: the bride’s hand, adorned and promised, and the bird’s foot, free and untethered.

It sits as a quiet contradiction, tradition and freedom held in a single grip. The rings, the mehndi, the readiness to fly. A piece about what a woman carries and what she still holds onto for herself.

Medium: Stoneware
Artist: Lukasha Varshney