The journey of interdisciplinary artist Sukanya Mani began with pieces of hand-cut paper.
Combined with lengths of saris, she used the pieces to tell compelling stories about the challenging experiences of immigrant and refugee women.
“When I cut paper out and install it from the ceiling, the balance and the way the artwork is suspended is playing with gravity,” Mani said. “And the way I light it, there are multiple shadows playing with reflected light, refracted light, and shadows and so on.”
Earlier this year, Mani was named the 2025 St. Louis Visionary Awards Community Impact Artist. Instead of painting or another two-dimensional form, she addresses women’s experiences of motherhood in installations that intertwine her artwork with scientific concepts from her academic background in biology, chemistry and physics.
Mani traces her artistic inspiration to the early days of the pandemic when she encountered an article about domestic violence. She reached out to immigrant and refugee communities to learn the stories of women who had survived violence and sexual abuse. That journey led to the “Bangle Project” that is exhibited at the Gallery at the Kranzberg.
Mani’s artwork also showcases women’s experiences of maternity, such as the piece “Thooli”. This piece was born out of the idea of postpartum care, or rather the lack of it,” said Mani. “The Thooli itself is four saris that are hanging from a ceiling as if there's a baby ready to go in the middle of it.”
“Thooli” means hammock in her native language, Tamil. Women from her country make saris out of the hammocks they wear. When their child is born, the child is placed in the Thooli, and the mother sings a lullaby and gently rocks them to sleep. Mani said that “these ancient practices have been lost in our contemporary society.”
“So what I have done,” she continued, “is added these motherly figures all around surrounding the saris, and then tied them again using a red thread, which is a wish for the protection of the child and the mother by the community that surrounds her.”
Mani’s work, part of a curated art exhibition, "The Sun Is Still There Even Behind The Clouds," is showing at the Gallery of the Kranzberg on Saturday, April 12 and April 19.
“Hopefully this [artwork] will make more conversations possible, not just within women and other community members, but policy makers, people who have the power to make a change.”
Related Event
What: 2025 St. Louis Visionary Awards
When: 6 p.m. April 21
Where: The Sun Theater, 3625 Grandel Square, St. Louis, MO 63108
To learn more about Sukanya Mani’s artwork, listen to St. Louis on the Air on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube or click the play button below.
“St. Louis on the Air” brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is produced by Miya Norfleet, Emily Woodbury, Danny Wicentowski, Elaine Cha and Alex Heuer. Jada Jones is our production assistant. The audio engineer is Aaron Doerr.
