Sagarika Sundram: Freedom and abstraction
Elle Decoration Spain
October 2025
Although she spent her childhood between Dubai and India, Sagarika Sundaram (1986) was born in Calcutta, into a Tamil family, whom she describes as “sensitive thinkers and visual people,” which has undoubtedly influenced her work as a textile artist. In 2020, she graduated with a Master of Fine Arts in Textiles from Parsons, New York, where she currently resides. “For me, it’s important to situate my practice within a philosophical and historical context of my own heritage and culture, and not in a superficial way,” she explains when asked about her artistic references, which are as varied and hybrid as she is. Dance, music, and the performing arts provide an ideal framework for action: “The immediacy and direct exchange between the performer and the audience is a microcosm that transcends language. I study how my own work can be just as visceral,” she says. Her works are made of wool and animal fibres, and are crafted using wet felting to create a single piece of fabric that unfolds into multiple layers. Some are so monumental that they expand up to six times their original width to reveal a complex internal structure. “I think of fabrics as membranes or skins, and cutting them feels transgressive and stimulating.” The truth awaits on the other side. […]