Virginia Hilyard on Collaborating with Varsha Nair and joining Womanifesto

By Virginia Hilyard

fabric screen suspended over body of water — Your Hand Opens and Closes and Opens and Closes — Preparation (Set of 9 Photographs). Asia Art Archive (AAA), Womanifesto Archive, Photographic Documentation, 1999 Womanifesto II, Exhibition. https://aaa.org.hk/archive/263485, accessed 2 November 2025.

I met Varsha during my Asialink Artist Residency in Bangkok in 1998-99, finding her to be a breath of fresh air in the mega-city. I felt we immediately synced up on many levels.

We turned daily activities and curiosities into material to shape and share. I seem to remember we dropped into making Your Hand Open and Closes and Opens and Closes effortlessly—filming Varsha’s masseur one home visit.

My curiosity about Muay Thai boxing took us to Bangkok’s Lumpini Stadium, a memorable experience filming the young boxers.

We both organised exhibitions and screenings of this work—the first was organised by Varsha who installed the hands video for 'Womanifesto II', projected on a floating screen in Saranrom Park in 1998.