Oil on canvas, 18X24in

THE VAHANA SERIES (2026)

The Vahana series presents five narratives paintings by Brooklyn-based artists Kesha Dalal, centering the feminine experience within the South Asian diaspora. Set inside a fictional yet familiar world, the works use recognizable motifs such as the red sari, gold jewelry, and stone architecture to explore the layered relationship between identity, culture, and belonging.

The series is informed by Kali, the Hindu goddess of destruction, transformation, and divine feminine power. The pairing of the woman in the painting and the black panther serves as a metaphor for discovering the shadow self (the aspects of identity that are suppressed, feared, or rendered unacceptable).

Dalal uses this woman and panther duo to challenge a central tension within the diaspora: coexistence of a cultural framework that celebrates strong, rule-breaking femininity, and a lived reality in which those exact qualities are often discouraged. The series collapses the boundary between divine and human, suggesting that the impulse to explore the self is not external to tradition, but embedded within it.

The Vahana Series reveals a quiet contradiction: allowing ourselves permission to embrace the untamed, even as cultural expectations continue to ask for its restraint.

Mehndi मेहँदी

(Henna; Natural plant dye that tones hair a copper-dark brown color. Also serves as a ceremonial and decorative art form in South Asian weddings.) 

This painting shows that the woman has aged. She puts Mehndi in her hair to cover her grays. To avoid staining her jewelry, she removes it and places it at her feet. Much like the previous painting (Bhumi), the removal of jewelry symbolizes letting go of old beliefs and traditions.