According to Kashmiri artist Insha Manzoor, tying knots repeatedly is a meditative act for her. Interestingly, knots — which she came across on the doors and windows of various shrines during her childhood visits to holy places — are recurring elements in her artworks.
“Behind every knot there are countless stories of love, hope, hunger, fear, waiting,” she tells TMS. “... that is why these knots are very important to me.”
A series of artworks by the artist will be on display at the exhibition, ‘Ski(e)n: Remembering through Performance and Thread’ at Delhi’s Dhoomimal Gallery. The show will open with a preview on December 5, and will be on view from December 6 to January 10, 2026.
The exhibition features a diverse range of media, including oils, acrylics, mixed media, wool, thread, fabric, and stories documented through photography.
Textures of belonging
An alumni of London’s Royal College of Arts (RCA), Manzoor started working on the knotting technique during her master’s in London. At the exhibition, Manzoor will present works across three series — textile-based knot works, a new series of Namda (felt made out of compressed wool) carpets, and paintings inspired by lotus seeds.
Speaking about why she chose to work with the traditional Kashmiri Namda carpet, she says, “I use the carpet because that craft is losing its grace— it’s disappearing into thin air. People don’t know much about it anymore, even though it was once such a special craft of Kashmir. For me, working with Namda becomes a bridge between personal memory and collective history. I found its texture incredibly interesting because it mirrors inner landscapes like grief and nostalgia.”
A larger installation, titled ‘Voyage Within’, shows a bright, colourful setting made from fabric, bangles, and net. At the centre hangs a garment covered in many, knotted pieces of cloth. Below it, on the floor, sits a long, boat-shaped structure, also wrapped in multicoloured fragments of fabric.
Stories of womanhood
Along with Manzoor, her co-exhibitor Abhijna Vemuru Kasa’s works will also be on display at the gallery. Kasa, who is also an RCA alumni, makes artwork that focuses on the feminine body, myths, and restrictive social norms. She reinterprets local stories and addresses the postpartum experience, aiming to present a more honest and authentic vision of womanhood.
Curator Jyoti A. Kathpalia points out the works by the two artists are connected despite their use of different mediums. “This exhibition has a lot to do with the negotiation of the self and the gender-inscribed body,” she notes. “Both the artists, despite working in different media and visual languages, converge in their search for ways of re-inscribing the self in the world.”
Dhoomimal Gallery director Uday Jain says the exhibition represents the gallery’s commitment to supporting young Indian artists. “Both artists have a distinct international outlook while being rooted in their cultures,” he says. “This gives their work a rare individuality.”