RAYS is a poignant photographic exploration seeking to illuminate women whose art serves as both a personal spiritual practice and outward creative expression. Throughout history and across the world, religion and spirituality have often been dominated by male figures and institutions, idolizing and worshiping spiritual leaders, resulting in the consistent overshadowing and exclusion of women and other marginalized groups in the practice and participation of these traditions. Drawing from her personal experience growing up in a Sufi Muslim community, where women faced restrictions on practicing, art became the transformative medium through which Suleika embarked on her spiritual journey. In this project, she pays homage to women who have bravely paved the way for their unique and artistic styles of spiritual practice. The ongoing series promises to uncover and celebrate the myriad ways in which creativity serves as a conduit for the divine. This issue explores the practice of Bengaluru-based Bharatanatyam dancer Rukmini Vijayakumar, whose devotion to dance has taken her on a journey to find the Hindu deity Shiva.
