About the Piece
- Perusing a book of
architecture from India, I came across the beautiful Hawa Mahal,
or Palace of Winds, built in 1799 in Jaipur. The building is
captivating and I longed to visit it. Yet reading about the
palace, I discovered its disturbing history. On the façade are
windows with lattice work that catch the wind and provide a
breeze inside the palace. However, the underlying reason for the
lattice was to enforce strict purdah, or face cover. The women
of the harem could watch the world outside their prison without
passersby seeing them.
The front of this piece shows the Palace of Winds; the reverse
side finds a modern-day woman standing on a train platform
surrounded by her luggage. She represents women who have been
able to break free from horrific practices like purdah. On the
surrounding walls are traditional tessellating tiles. Behind her
is a wall clock that reads two o’clock and is a play on the word
“to”, as she is going “to” someplace. The circular form of the
clock serves as a halo and speaks of divinity amidst the
secular. On the tableau beneath, birds in flight echo her
freedom.
While I was making this sculpture I was preparing to go to
Brazil on a Fulbright Group Study Abroad. I was wrestling with
feelings of responsibility to my husband and son and how
although I love being a mom and wife, I was looking forward to
this new adventure.
