Making the ‘Invisible’ Visible: Indoor Heat, Unpaid Domestic Work, and Women’s Resilience
Women and youth who shared their time and experiences with the collaborator - Aasha behen, Alfisha Mahaldbade, Anis Mahaldbade, Anoo behen, Babli behen, Bandana Gupta, Devyani Koli, Gauri Devi, Kamlesh behen, Kanchan behen, Laxmi Paswan, Manisha Kumari, Mathura Vaity, Meena Koli, Meera Gupta, Meera Tripathi, Mehak Shaikh, Mery Koli, Mithlesh behen, Monika behen, Mumtaz behen, Nasreen Shaikh, Poonam behen, Poonam Jha, Priya Jha, Rekha Vaity, Reshma behen, Reshma Kumari, Sandeep Keshari, Savita behen, Shaila Koli, Shashikala Keshari, Shreya Tripathi, Shruti Tripathi, Sunita behen, Trupti Vaity, Zarina behen
Extreme heat is usually measured outdoors, yet some of its most harmful impacts are felt indoors. For millions of women engaged in unpaid domestic work, homes — especially kitchens — become overheated microclimates where temperatures often exceed those outside. This invisible burden remains unrecorded in economic data, overlooked in policy, and confined within private spaces.
Making the Invisible Visible is an audio-visual project developed in collaboration with Sonali Verma (Sustainable Futures Collaborative) and partner organisations including Mahila Housing Trust, Nazaria Arts Collective, SEEDS India, and the Urbz Collective. Thermal imaging footage from homes in Delhi, Mumbai, and Hyderabad is layered with animations — aspirational counterpoints to what the thermal record shows — and testimonies from women across ages, geographies, and communities.
Shown at Conscious Collective, Godrej Design Lab, Mumbai (December 2025) and Mumbai Climate Week (February 2026).
The project is currently in its next phase — expanding documentation to peak summer months, strengthening the scientific rigour of the thermal imaging, and travelling to policy, design, and public platforms in India and internationally including London Climate Action Week and COP31.
Testimonials
The work presents a 28-minute thermal imaging video as a continuous pan — stitched footage of homes and bodies absorbing heat through the day, with animations overlaid on specific areas of the frame as aspirational counterpoints to the thermal record. A 16-minute audio narrative in Hindi, English, and Marathi draws on testimonies from women across ages, geographies, and communities. The video and audio run independently in separate loops — each encounter produces a different pairing of image and voice.