Inspired by the mythology of Kali Ma, the Hindu Goddess of death, time, and change and the mythos of moths as “angels of death” by ancient cultures all over the world, Manik Raj Nakra has combined the two mythologies into fantastical creatures of the artist’s own making called “Kali Moths." The Kali Moths explore ritual and ceremony, mortality, and our spiritual relationship to Nature.

Moth iconography has been found in art, folklore, religion, artifacts, and ancient ruins throughout human history to represent change, transformation, and death. Moths are also seen as ancestral spirits returning.

Thought of as the ‘Divine Mother’, Kali Ma is historically depicted with blue or black skin as the darkness from which the universe is born. Other characteristics include fangs, long tongue, 4 arms, and a garland of human heads.

In Hindu mythology, Kali is often summoned as personified wrath and embodied fury. In her most famous story, she is called upon to defeat a demon who multiplies every time a drop of its blood hits the ground. She uses her sword to sever the demon’s head and unfurls her long tongue to catch any spilled blood.

In these artworks, Kali Ma, as the universe creator, takes on the role of a personified Mother Nature; summoned, worshipped, loved, and feared.

Revered as a Goddess of both creation and destruction, Kali Ma imagery can be found throughout western pop culture, most famously appearing in the film, ‘Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.’ In the film, Jones is tasked with tracking the religous cult performing black magic and human sacrifice to honor Kali Ma.

In these assemblages of handmade paper, the Kali Moths are adorned with wood block printed spiritual iconography and historical ceremonial motifs hand carved by the artist. The copy & paste collaged compositions are influenced by the western artistic traditions of early xerox style punk zines and also draw upon the South Asian history of wood block printing as a way to reflect the artist’s own experience of being a first generation Indian American.