UNBOUNDED x SHRUTHI NAIR

Shruthi Nair refuses to fit into boxes, even as perfectionism threatens to build new ones around her. A practitioner of Bharatanatyam—an ancient Indian classical dance—she champions genre-bending through contemporary principles and hip hop influences. Lyrical and intrinsic to what feels natural in her body, she has developed a movement vocabulary described as “indo-contemporary”. Her unique style embodies the possibilities of "Where Dreams Take Shape," the theme of the Osaka World Expo 2025, where Shruthi was selected by the Singapore Tourism Board to bring her fresh perspective on how history can be reimagined through the dance of today.

As the first artist on the BLACK SHEEP COLLECTIVE platform, Shruthi emerged as an artist of radical unconventionalism. Yet, her difference is both her gift and her burden. Behind the innovation lives a quieter struggle: Shruthi's trapped by perfectionism and the weight of balancing tradition with her own voice. It begs the question, does freedom lie in the ability to create in limitless forms—to move between polarities without constraint? Or does true freedom require that the process itself—the making, the choosing, the constant navigation—also feel liberated? For Shruthi, the answer is clear: she remains bounded by the process, tormented by perpetual decision-making, each choice carrying the weight of both honoring tradition and breaking from it.

This is where the collective enters. Our intention: to create conditions for self-discovery. The question we're exploring: what does it take to go from bounded to unbounded? Could these experiments help Shruthi understand herself better, build confidence in her choices, and feel less burdened by the cost of innovation? 

BLACK SHEEP COLLECTIVE celebrates transformation as both process and purpose. Through our collaborations, we reveal what it means to move from limitation to liberation—and how creation becomes the language of that evolution. After weeks of interviews, our first meeting took place in Shruthi's pink childhood bedroom—a space frozen in time. What followed were four creative prompts: small experiments under different artistic conditions to encourage new ways of seeing herself. We co-styled looks, debated polarities, and at one point dismantled her room to uncover a treasure trove of Indian costume jewelry hidden beneath her bed.

And this is what we found.

Mudras aren't just hand poses—they're living stories, layered with memory, lineage, and power. "These gestures are where I store memory," Shruthi explains. "Each one carries a fundamental of Bharatanatyam, but also something of my own. I use my hands to reclaim space: as a woman, as an artist, as someone who will never be just one thing."

Before each performance, she moves through three mudras—a ritual to reconnect with her stage soul, the liminal space where breath, body, and belief align. It's both an energetic check-in and a boundary between outer performance and inner truth. What's rare and radical is her freedom to adapt mudras as her own—gestures that move with her, becoming part of who she is beyond the stage. Through this prompt, Shruthi identified something she hadn't fully recognized before: three words she defined for each mudra became her guiding north stars.

Being – grounded, centered, returning to self
Belonging – rooted, sovereign, feminine
Blooming – ever-evolving, in motion

Shruthi wears BLACK SHEEP's Midnight in Marrakesh earrings.

As we look back, one thing is clear: Shruthi's desire for authenticity and recognition is real. What we also learned through this process is her intensity — her capacity to create, think, and feel with full presence. It’s a force that fuels truth and creativity, but can also bring vulnerability and friction. For years, she has navigated the tension between perfectionism bound to tradition and unbounded creativity, often shying away from the very intensity that drives her. Perhaps these contradictions and this intensity are not obstacles to overcome, but markers of who she is, guiding, shaping, and challenging her as an artist.

To be fully seen, one must first be seen by oneself. Perhaps it isn’t about resolving contradictions, but accepting that they can coexist as different parts of the same person. This is the work: leaning into intensity, embracing the parts of ourselves that may feel misunderstood, and beginning to understand them. Equally, it is crucial to be surrounded by the right people and communities who celebrate who we truly are—and the BLACK SHEEP COLLECTIVE is one of them. 

We support artists like Shruthi, a traditionalist and an innovator, and recognize that tradition doesn’t vanish with change; both can coexist. Where others see chaos, we see clarity; where they see challenges, we see creativity; where they see limits, we see beginnings. Above all, we honor her courage: as a cultural disruptor, as someone very real about her journey and its challenges, and in the choices she makes—the harder path—that lead to somewhere real.

CREDITS

TALENT- SHRUTHI NAIR

PHOTOGRAPHER - ERIC SEOW

MAKEUP & HAIR -  DOLLEI SEAH & MEGAN ONG 

STYLING - JADE GRIFFIN & SHRUTHI NAIR

CREATIVE DIRECTION | CURATION - JADE GRIFFIN