Saris are the traditional attire for women in my culture. For young Hindu girls, the textile represents a symbolic rite of passage.

That was something I wanted to include into a painting. 'Why so serious?' a renowned phrase from the DC character - The Joker - came to mind, and that's when my idea for this piece began to come together. I altered the word 'serious' to 'sari-ous' and depicted The Joker and Harley Quinn as South Asian figures.

There is yet to be South Asian representation in the Western world, and I believe that art is an excellent way to pave the path. Creating versions of characters and superheroes for young South Asian females to look up to is vital so that they are always secure in their own skin and have figures and superheroes to look up to.

other works by Vithusha Nisan