TSUNAINA

Otherworldly and bewitching are two words associated with the multi-hyphenate model. But who is the person behind the sculptured mask?

- SHRIYA ZAMINDAR

Tsunaina is done with making 'beautiful images'. Although it's what the Nepali model turned musician is best known for, she wants to take back agency, to reveal her authentic persona, instead of surrendering to what other people project on her. “I want my images to feel emotional and sincere," she says, referring to narratives that fashion her into a mythical being, rarely opening the channel to show her vulnerable nature. "I intend for the image to feel like a story, as opposed to something that just looks nice," she confesses.

You may recognise her unmistakable features as the canvas for Pat McGrath's Mothership campaign in 2018. To hear Tsunaina tell it, the musician in her was crafted by choice, but the model was discovered by chance. After McGrath's team found her selfies on Instagram, her calendar filled up, despite being all of 5ft 5in, noticeably shorter than the leggy women who dominate the modelling business. She was quickly granted prized real estate in the portfolios of photographers Tim Walker and Paolo Roversi, not to mention about a dozen fashion titles across the globe.

What Tsunaina lacked in height, she made up for with her unique features which became the focus of photographers' and editors' vivid imaginations. On camera, she embodied fantasy...and that eventually became a gilded trap. Chasing financial security to survive in London, one of the most expensive cities in the world, she said yes to practically every project that came her way. "I'm grateful for modelling, it has given me so much. But from the beginning, it was a means to an end. I knew that it would have been stupid to say no to work, but I felt really stifled to be a canvas for other people's ideas constantly."

"People ask me about the political scene back home, but why do I have to answer for that? No one's asking Adele about Brexit"