hand of suttee
Varanasi, India

640 x 510
painting, collage, gilding
burning, wrapping

canvas board, wooden frame, bindis,
henna template, key, gold thread,
gauze bandages, gold leaf, nails,
acrylic paints

 

 

On the funeral ghats beside the Ganges in Varanasi one sees handprints left by the women who, while very much alive, went with their deceased spouse onto the funeral pyre.
I'm told that this practice - suttee - is outlawed in India. But that it still happens.