Dignified Labour Wall Art

Dignified Labour — 4 museum-grade prints that set the mood. Kerala's Malabar coast was the hinge of the global spice trade for two millennia — black pepper, cardamom and cinnamon drew Roman, Arab, Chinese and later European ships to Kochi, Kozhikode and Kollam. This print sets that everyday merchant inside bhitti chitra, Kerala's temple-mural tradition that flourished roughly from the 16th to 19th century and is still painted today: flat panchavarna pigments (red, yellow, green, black, white over an ochre ground), a bold lamp-black outline, and the school's elongated lotus-shaped eyes. The Cheena vala — the shore-operated cantilever lift nets at Fort Kochi — are among Kerala's most recognised sights, by tradition linked to Chinese traders and the Malabar coast's long maritime contact. This print sets them inside bhitti chitra, Kerala's temple-mural tradition that flourished roughly from the 16th to 19th century and is still painted today: flat panchavarna pigments (red, yellow, green, black, white over an ochre ground), a bold lamp-black outline and the school's elongated lotus-shaped eyes. Coir — the fibre spun from coconut husk — is one of Kerala's signature crafts, centred on Alappuzha and the coastal belt, and the spinning is largely women's work done on traditional wheels in open yards. This print sets that scene inside bhitti chitra, Kerala's temple-mural tradition that flourished roughly from the 16th to 19th century and is still painted today: flat panchavarna pigments (red, yellow, green, black, white over an ochre ground), a bold lamp-black outline and the school's elongated lotus-shaped eyes.

Updated 22 Jun 2026