Artist Statement

Given my Indian heritage, my studio methodology brings with it traces of history, culture and spirituality. Having always been inspired by Eastern mythology and Western modern concepts, my art practice has become an amalgamation of the two. Using a festive colour palette not only offers a cultural identity but brings with it a sense of life and activates the surrounding space. Colour combined with scale has transformative powers, which lets viewers have an experiential encounter with my work. The concept of simplicity in my work allows for purity, which is rich in repercussion. It is free of explicit representational contents. “The more you complicate things, the more you lose. In renouncing you achieve more” Wolfgang Laib.

I am interested in the notion of materiality in the physical, philosophical and theosophical senses. I am exploring materials like paint, pigments, plastics, wood, turmeric, chili and flour, to create an ecstatic vision that overwhelms the viewers with a sense of mystery and emotion. The natural materials and pigments transcend themselves, rendering meaning and experience to the viewers. Turmeric and chili sprinkled on the floor fills the space with a lingering aroma playing with the viewer’s senses whilst bright colours engage the viewer’s eyes. There is an urge to explore, to touch, to view closely and to solve the mystery encapsulated by the work. The experience of the viewer becomes the main aspect of my work, making it meaningful and giving essence to my work.

My works are about formal relationships and a dialogue between space and architecture creating a spatial experience. They are a response to or an intervention to the architectural space. I am interested in the three-dimensional aspect of space, creating works using the walls, floor and ceiling. I want to add new depth and dimension to familiar spaces. I utilise different shapes, pigment and colour to make work on the wall, which extends onto the floor and ceiling. They create an illusion and play to become both two and three-dimensional.

My recent installations are about a conversation between the ideas of the ephemeral and the permanent. One is about the tactile experience where one has the desire to touch the pigment and physically experience the work. While the other is about the visual experience, where given a few moments in front of these seductive works; the spectator is inevitably drawn by fleeting intangible moods. The Perspex contains or shields the pigment from the touch. I am also interested in the relationship between the reflective hard surface of the Perspex, which captures the bouncing light and transitory images of the surroundings and the viewer experiencing the work, whereas the matt porous, delicate and fragile pigment on the floor creates pulsating evanescent expressions. These bodies of work are about revealing the universal truth about the material, journey and celebration of life.

“From joy springs all creation, by joy it sustained, towards joy it proceeds, and to joy it returns.” Mundaka Upanishad.