Nep Sidhu and Nicholas Galanin, SHE in Mud Form, 2015–16

Nep Sidhu (b. 1981) is a Punjabi Sikh interdisciplinary artist with deep roots in Scarborough, Ontario. Working across textiles, sculpture, painting, video, and sound, Sidhu explores the metaphysics of form as a pathway to express community, selfhood, and the formlessness of the Divine. His collaborator here, Nicholas Galanin (b. 1979), is a Tlingit/Unangax artist based in Sitka, Alaska. Galanin uses sculpture, installation, and other media to engage with contemporary culture through the lens of his Indigenous heritage and connection to land.  

SHE in Mud Form, 2015–16, is a landmark cross-cultural collaboration between Nep Sidhu and Nicholas Galanin, forming part of their ongoing series No Pigs in Paradise. The life-size figure wears regalia, the design of which fuses elements from both artists’ heritages to address the global crisis of violence against women—particularly the epidemic of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls in North America, and the parallel violence against women in India. Conceived as a protector figure, the work symbolizes advocacy, solidarity, and cultural resilience. 

The figure’s coat combines the expressive gold zari embroidery from Punjabi Sikh textile traditions with the form and symbolism of Tlingit Chilkat robes, which were traditionally woven by women and adorned with animal and spirit imagery in Northwest Coast formline design. Around the hood, bands of cow leather feature Punjabi text drawn from the words of elders, evoking protection and care. The skirt, composed of eight puffer-style winter jackets, references the common detail in missing persons reports for Indigenous women (“last seen wearing a puffy winter coat”), highlighting the disproportionate rates of violence against Indigenous women. The figure’s face is covered with an intricate metal mask decorated with Northwest Coast design, a continuation of Galanin’s earlier work making traditional Tlingit jewellery, underscoring the piece’s synthesis of heritage and innovation.