Fabric forms the matrix and material of Rakhi Peswani’s ‘word-pictures’. the triptych ‘3 Studies on Retention (on memory)’ is created using ‘traditional’ ‘craft’ techniques such as appliqué and hand embroidery. the erstwhile division between ‘art’ and ‘craft’ is blurred in the rejuvenation of “depleting languages of craft practices (needle work particularly)” (peswani). Suresh jayaram writes that the “matter of material has become a political stance. and these are attempts to reclaim craft traditions and to move beyond gender and patriarchy.” (Khoj book- 2002- 2003, page 20) ‘keep’ ‘Hold’ and ‘Grip’ form the three steps of acquisition- in memory, where artistic practices under threat are invoked, while simultaneously the words themselves are translated into visuals through the associations that they generate. For peswani, the “current works are an attempt to see the grey areas that (de)stabilize such languages and their practitioners in the urban metropolis.”