Rithika Merchant’s ethereal worlds are born from her consideration of how narratives, myths and ideas resonate across different peoples, cultures and religions, and how these shared stories inform our imaginings of the future. Her illustrations speculate on what might happen as the world becomes less habitable for humans, and what new worlds, creatures and relationships might then evolve. The artist’s fantastical worlds are inhabited by curious beings, whose evolution, values, beliefs and technologies Merchant carefully develops.

For the 11th Asia Pacific Triennial, Merchant’s most recent series ‘Terraformation’ 2022–23 follows her beings as they leave their planet and begin terraforming their new homes — that is, shaping new planets to be more habitable. Drawing on scientific, fictitious and mythological ideas, each work in the series acts as a proposition for sustaining life in a new world.