The Water Carrier
Installation
Sagra Village, Gujarat, India
India 2026
The installation centres on the lota, a metal vessel found in every household in Sagra. Made from brass or mixed metals, the lota is a vital domestic object, used daily for collecting water, cooking, washing, and ritual. Its significance lies in use rather than ornament: shaped for hands, lifted, carried, and poured countless times, it becomes an extension of the women’s labour.
The women of Sagra work primarily in the fields while also sustaining their homes. Their strength is physical and enduring, formed through years of agricultural and domestic work. The lota mirrors this endurance, its metal body bearing weight and wear, carrying the marks of touch and time.
Formally, the lota holds a quiet femininity. Its rounded curves suggest softness and care, while the strength of the metal speaks to durability. As a vessel for water, it also carries associations of purity and renewal. Water is gathered, protected, and shared, a daily act of responsibility that sustains both family and community.
Through collective making, the lota becomes a gesture of recognition: reflecting the women of Sagra as carriers of knowledge and quiet power, whose labour forms the foundation of everyday life.