Sanchari Sinha

Artist Bio

Sanchari is a visual artist from West Bengal presently based in Edinburgh, working across quilts and objects created using repurposed fabric, found items, and ceramics. Soon completing their MA in Contemporary Art Practice at the ECA, they have exhibited work at Inverleith House (RGBE), Hospitalfield, and Summerhall. Rooted in material inquiry and narrative writing, their practice explores the intertwined themes of trauma and comfort. 

Drawing inspiration from shared mundane experiences and the therapeutic potential of journaling, Sanchari seeks to foster connection through their work and provide comfort by counteracting the feeling of suffering in isolation amidst the hypernormalisation and constant hustle of contemporary life. Sanchari’s installation at the ECA Postgraduate Show incorporates testimonies from peers through participatory methods such as surveys and interactive objects, alongside documentation of their personal healing journey. 

Their work captures the anxieties, resilience, and coping mechanisms of individuals navigating adulthood in a complex time of global crisis, recognising the need for change, striving to generate the hope necessary for envisioning a better alternative.

They position their work as a site of healing and resistance, inviting the audience to pause and identify their worries, and imagine the possibility of a world where things have worked out.

Artist Statement

I am a visual artist working with repurposed fabric, found items and ceramics to create quilts and objects exploring themes of trauma, queerness, cultural identity, and economic conditions, focusing on how these experiences manifest in the body. 

Making kantha quilts is a common tradition of layering old clothes together using a continuous running stitch to create thin, padded quilts for newborns. I am exploring this medium as a therapeutic form of storytelling, sewing together hand-painted illustrations and abstract poetic framing of personal accounts. 

My practice is inspired by my love for journaling and seeking comfort in spiritual practices. For my recent project, I spoke to people about their anxieties, coping mechanisms, and desired alternative realities through casual conversation and anonymous digital forms. With informed consent, I incorporated them into one quilt to foster connection and counteract the effects of hypernormalisation and the feeling of being stuck in a cycle.

Some pieces of my installation are an attempt to process and move beyond traumatic experiences stored by the body. These works reflect on social conditioning and shame. With intentions rooted in self-care and healing, the soft sculpture and quilts stitched with letters of affirmation seek to gently redirect focus toward viewing the body through a positive and grounded lens, reclaiming autonomy and agency. 

My ceramic sculpture, inspired by the mundane image of a toilet, was transformed into an interactive wishing well, encouraging the audience to pause and identify their source of worry to throw it down the toilet wishing bowl, experiencing a moment of hope and power.

Crafted with lo-fi materials, my work is influenced by mundane, domestic imagery and the relatable aesthetics of protest ephemera. My work is a site of healing, resistance, and a collective proposal for alternative futures grounded in empathy and shared experience.