Common Threads Studio presents “TRIBUTE TO MY FATHER,” a personal and evocative body of work by textile artist Kalyani Pramod, paying homage to her father, the celebrated photojournalist T.S. Nagarajan (1932–2014). The exhibition is on view from 15th to 26th February 2026, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., at Lalit Kala Akademi, Thousand Lights, Chennai.
This exhibition emerges from a creative dialogue between a daughter and her father’s legacy. T.S. Nagarajan was widely respected for his ability to capture fleeting, magical moments through striking compositions, masterful use of light and shadow, and impeccable timing. His photographs continue to inspire generations, and for Kalyani Pramod, they remain a constant creative compass.
As a tribute following his passing, Kalyani reinterprets some of his most iconic and in certain cases unpublished photographs by introducing dimensions of texture and material. Her practice builds on his vision, maintaining continuity with the original photographs while allowing for reinterpretation. Though the original photographs were taken by her father, her interpretations are layered with personal memory, nostalgia, and lived experience, shaped by her recollections of places and people she encountered growing up.
“‘Tribute to My Father’ is both a personal remembrance and a creative dialogue with my father’s photographic journey. By translating his images into textile, I reinterpret them through material, personal memory, and lived experience. The work draws from the original photographs while incorporating my own associations and sense of nostalgia. Through fabric, texture, and thread, the images take on a new form in a different medium. It is a quiet conversation across time, where photography finds a new life in fabric.” said Kalyani Pramod, Textile Artist
Working across wool and silk tapestries, embroidery on tea bag paper, and hand-embroidered fabric, Kalyani transforms black-and-white imagery into tactile artworks. Subdued colours preserve the contemplative mood of the originals. The tapestries capture a sense of movement, while the tea bag paper embroideries focus on portraits which are intimate, fragile, and personal. Alongside these, a series dedicated to local vendors further acknowledges everyday lives that quietly shape the visual culture of a place.
Her use of tea bag paper emerged instinctively. As a frequent tea drinker, repeated encounters with used tea bags drew her attention to their delicate surface, subtle textures, and tonal variations. What started as a single experiment evolved into a signature medium, offering a canvas where memory and emotion could be stitched into form.
Along with this tribute, the exhibition also presents “BENARAS,” a series rooted in Kalyani’s childhood experiences accompanying her father on his photography travels. For her, Benaras was not only a sacred city but also a familiar landscape filled with sensory impressions. Its ghats, river, boats, crowded lanes, and spiritual rhythms shaped her early understanding of life’s dualities.
Her recollections of Benaras hold contrasts, beauty and solemnity, vitality and mortality, chaos and calm. The sight of funeral processions passing through narrow lanes coexisted with luminous sunrises over the Ganges and tranquil evenings at the ghats. These layered memories now resurface through embroidery, patchwork, and appliqué.
Each piece reconnects the artist with the city’s shifting sounds, silences, and moods. The works reflect how the city’s contradictions taught her to embrace the cycles of life and the fleeting nature of existence with acceptance and curiosity.
Together, “TRIBUTE TO MY FATHER” and “BENARAS” offer viewers a poetic exploration of memory, legacy, and material storytelling, where photography finds a second life in thread, fabric, and touch.
Exhibition Details
On View: 15th – 26th February 2026
Time: 11 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Venue: Lalit Kala Akademi, Thousand Lights, Chennai, Tamil Nadu: 600006
Contact Details: 044 2829 1692
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