Mookuthi show in Visakhapatnam: Exploring the stories behind nose ornaments
Designer Sarath Selvanathan is hosting a traveling exhibition in Visakhapatnam titled 'The Mookuthi Show,' which explores the cultural and personal significance of nose ornaments. The collection draws inspiration from South Indian architecture, personal memories, and the stories of local artisans.
Why it matters
The exhibition highlights the intersection of traditional craftsmanship, personal identity, and cultural heritage in modern design.
A nose ornament can be small enough to sit on the tip of a finger, yet its significance can extend into questions of identity, memory and self-expression. The Mookuthi Show, a travelling immersive exhibition by Chennai-based designer Sarath Selvanathan, brings this perspective to Visakhapatnam, presenting nose ornaments inspired by nine stories from South India.
The idea for Mookuthi took shape in 2015, when Selvanathan first made a nose ornament for a friend. “It was the smallest piece of jewellery I made, but the only one that changed the wearer’s looks,” he says. That experience led him to consider the mookuthi as an intimate marker of identity. The pieces he creates today, he adds, carry traces of his own childhood.
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