Preetika Rajgariah’s work is an act of history making. Her work depicts herself in unapologetic, often unabashedly erotic postures, brought to life through her dynamic and vibrant materials. In using these non-traditional materials, Preetika reveals that the yoga mat is not just a cultural artifact about the presence of Indian culture in the west, but also a deeply intimate object that absorbs the touch and sweat of its user.

Preetika’s work is a wider material history of the the South Asian diaspora, where figures rendered in sari textiles on yoga mats speak to the ways South Asian subjects are often objectified and commodified in the West. But the work is also a deeply personal history, the figures’ bold queerness and pleasure serving as an intimate act of resistance to the dominant culture.

PREETIKA RAJGARIAH (b. 1985) is a queer multidisciplinary artist whose works examine the complicated intersections of cultural + queer identity, nostalgia, and capitalist consumption while referencing her traditional upbringing as an Indian born, Texas raised American. She has been in residence at the Momentary, Oxbow, ACRE, Vermont Studio Center, and the School of Visual Arts NYC, and she has exhibited and performed in spaces such as Material Art Fair in Mexico City, Untitled Miami Basel, the Asia Society Texas Center, Roots & Culture and the Donnelley Foundation in Chicago, the Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts and SOMArts in San Francisco, Women & Their Work in Austin, and Diverseworks Houston. She received her MFA from the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign and currently lives and works in Houston, TX.