The Murmur of a Prayer is a work by Indo-Caribbean artist Suchitra Mattai. It is weaved together from found, vintage saris, which relate to post-colonial concerns surrounding gender, labor, and family, ghungroo bells, traditional Indian dancing accessories that would be tied to an anklet so they sound when the wearer stomps their feet, and prayer Dupattas belonging to the artist and her grandmother. A Dupatta is a traditional garment with symbolic meaning related to honor that is sometimes worn on the head, as a veil or scarf, and sometimes draped over the shoulders.

Mattai’s work tells visual stories that touch on her family lineage. Blending painting, sculpture and installation with methods suggestive of domestic labor which she learned from her grandmother, such as sewing, embroidery and crocheting, the work addresses such topics as the legacy of colonialism, and relationships between culture and gender roles.

She frequently uses materials in her works that have their own embedded meanings. This creates a call and response between the materials, the topics addressed in the work, and processes involved in the work’s creation.
 
“I say I’m a storyteller,” says Mattai, “but the story does not only come from history. When you’re thinking about what constitutes memory, it’s part truth and it’s part myth. These sari pieces become a way of connecting women of the South Asian diaspora over time, because they’re of different vintages. Being part of a diaspora community, you want to connect back to this past you no longer occupy, or have tangible evidence of.”