A Life in Circles
Artist Name
Kavya Sharma
Artist Statement
My practice explores memory, identity, and lived experience through textiles, drawing, and installation. Using repetitive processes and material storytelling, I investigate themes of care, resilience, and transformation, creating spaces for reflection on the relationships between body, place, and the narratives that shape our everyday lives.
Exhibition Statement
A Life in Circles is a series of four self-portraits that traces over a decade of living with endometriosis, adenomyosis, endometrial hyperplasia, and PCOS. Created following my hysterectomy and excision surgery, the third surgery I underwent in four years, at the age of twenty-nine. The works reflect on the physical and emotional realities of chronic illness and the long journey towards being believed.
Drawing on domestic spaces, embroidered thorned vines, circles, drains, and fragments of memory, the series explores pain, repetition, loss, resilience, and survival. These recurring motifs mirror the cyclical nature of chronic illness, where symptoms return, bodies are repeatedly scrutinised, and recovery is rarely linear. The home becomes both a place of refuge and confinement, while embroidery serves as a slow, repetitive act of recording experiences that often remain invisible.
Each self-portrait marks a distinct chapter. The First Flood/21 revisits the confusion and fear of the first symptoms and the beginning of years without answers. Morning After Morning/26 reflects the recurrence of pain after surgery and the quiet isolation of living with an invisible illness. The Breaking Point/28 captures the emotional and physical exhaustion that preceded my decision to undergo a hysterectomy, as the body became increasingly consumed by pain. What Remains/29 brings these fragments together, acknowledging the scars that remain while reclaiming them as evidence of endurance rather than defeat.
This body of work is both deeply personal and profoundly collective. It speaks to the countless people whose pain has been minimised, dismissed, or misunderstood. A Life in Circles is not only an archive of illness but also a testament to survival, asking what evidence is required to prove suffering and what becomes possible when lived experience is finally recognised. Through these works, I invite viewers to reflect on the hidden realities of chronic illness, the politics of visibility, and the quiet resilience of bodies that continue despite everything.
