LOS ANGELES, Calif.—”A Body Is a Bridge, a Body Is Water” is a show celebrating the connection between artists Natalia Ira Sookias’ and Shriya Samavai Manian’s respective Eastern heritages with their lives and art practices in the West.
The collection will be on display this weekend (March 25-27) from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Heavy Manners Library, located at 1200 North Alvarado Street, Los Angeles, CA 90026. The opening reception will be held on Thursday, March 24, from 7 to 9 p.m.
Heavy Manners Library will be transformed into a space of Armenian and Indian comforts and traditions, featuring handmade ceramics by Sooki Studio and garments made from saris by SAMAVAI. As diasporic individuals, Sookias and Samavai Manian use their memories of times spent in their traditions with grandparents and cherished family members to create a bridge over the ocean between then and now. The duo invites you to think about the objects in your home and how they connect to those who came before you and those who may come afterward. Items by Sooki Studio and SAMAVAI are inspired by rituals and built for you and those you love to continue them on.
A Body Is a Bridge, a Body Is Water
உடல் ஒரு பாலம், մարմինը՝ ջուր
Uṭal oru pālam, marminy՝ jur
Thatha’s been gone for nine years / Papik’s been gone for two
Large soft palms, long twiggy fingers, and arms stretched like bridges from them
to us
Paati would fill the water in the vessel / Tatik would heat it on the stove
Bodies adorned with gold, hips wrapped in cotton-silk, faces soft and warm like
milk
We’re placing stones on the walk from there to here. Leaping from rock to rock.
Heaven to earth. A cord from their hearts to ours. Adyar to Pasadena. Artsakh to
Monterey Park.
SAMAVAI is a label founded by Shriya Samavai Manian and based in Los Angeles, CA. Shriya is interested in exploring how heritage and history can be passed down through textiles. All garments are made from vintage saris and other South Asian textiles and are cut and sewn in India and the United States.
Sooki Studio is part making space, part educational space run by Armenian artist and educator, Natalia Sookias. Her ceramics are a vehicle to both connect with her ancestors and create good quality goods for her community. Her work is made with the intention to last generations.
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