Rooted is inspired by the legend of Prince Siddhartha, later the Buddha, who is said to have taken his first steps moments after his birth, with a lotus blooming wherever his foot touched the earth. The piece captures that moment. His footsteps are traced in fine grey stitching that recedes into the dove-grey silk, while the lotuses emerge in colour from the ground beneath them, shaded in soft pinks and framed by gold scrollwork, green leaves and drifting clouds.

At the right, a lilac conch edged in gold carries a small lotus on its crown. One of the eight auspicious symbols of Buddhism, the conch represents the sound of the Buddha’s teachings spreading far and wide. Here it marks the arrival of an awakened life.