Singapore-based artists of Japanese and Indian origins, Sachiyo Sharma and Sunaina Bhalla have come together to create a conceptual installation Curated by Dr Gauri Parimoo Krishnan at the Japan Foundation inspired by the Japanese concept of Ma.  Ma in Japanese culture refers to space interval defined as void.  Both artists have addressed the idea of Ma in their own respective art practices which starts with a minimalistic expression using materials they have either inherited or encountered through life-changing experiences that bring to life their quests through a combined installation.

Sachiyo’s association with linen paper goes back to her Japanese calligraphic background and familiarity with paper, brushes and ink. She painstakingly spins the Japanese linen paper yarn with silver thread from Nishijin inspired by traditional Kimono sashes to weave her works into large paper tapestries. She weaves the tapestries with uneven texture and the texture replete with silver shines forth in some spots when it catches light.  Sachiyo gives a new twist to traditional weaving with metal thread where asymmetry and irregularity of hand-made creations is the hallmark.

Sunaina weaves steel pins on strips of cloth tied around woven cotton cords alluding to the immeasurable pain and existence affirmed by the pin prick of needles encountered and reaffirmed in the lives of many including the artist herself. Her works evoke a chilling silence one submits to after bearing pain through illness. The agony of bearing pain and transformation the human body undergoes when plagued by a life-threatening disease and living with and caring for someone, has manifested in Sunaina’s works literally as well as metaphorically.