The “RITUALS - Warrior Series” draws the artist back to her early years. She remembers her arms covered in sacred threads after worshipping the goddess, the smell of fresh flowers and kumkum, the dampness of her hair after a bath, and the quiet rhythm of repeating prayers after her parents. These rituals were always present, passed down through mothers for generations, and perhaps that is why they still feel so deeply connected to her. The moli/mauli, the sacred thread, becomes a marker of occasion, each one tied turn by turn, binding faith, memory, and aspirations for the future yet to come.

Within these daily rituals, fasting for a husband, wishing for the family's well-being, and tending to the ancestors, she felt a woman was always missing. Strangely, this woman is fearless, yet she has never understood her own power. She can give birth; she can make or break a home. Caught in a complex web of social, personal, and familial pressures, she passes each day believing she will one day step out of it into a new, desired self. For her, these drawings hold power and are rich in their own potency. Yet they remain tied up, and the threads may be read as strings, through which we can think of sound or different coordinates. The woman holds herself as a defined barrier, a warrior, ready to break free from all the norms around her.

Natasha Preenja recently presented at Art & Bali as an artist and panellist, and was the inaugural recipient of the Swali Craft Prize, presented at India Art Fair 2026 earlier this year for her project “Lotus-Headed”.