I have always been curious to explore the dark - grey areas of life through my work. Having been trained as a print maker it added to my curiosity to search the different hues within the colour black. I have been working on a series of paintings where black is the colour and also the medium. Having understood that there is nothing absolutely black, I try to dig out various images which surface in course of my engagement with the colour.
When we understand colour as the medium and also as the message, we surely are moving away from formal concerns to something deeper to say, ‘political’. My works have always been from and about my surroundings or my own experiences. This is translated/ transposed over some already existing images or photographs which attempt to put across my thoughts and views about certain things. My earlier works were dominated by black and its tonal variations. The idea was to cover the visible surface as much as possible by painting it black. The intention though was to put forth a critique of the existing mindless development called urbanisation. For me, black signified an act of protest and I always imagined the image of the painter as myself.
The wall was a repeating metaphor in most of my earlier works. But it used to be just another formal element in the overall scheme of things. In this series I made the wall my object and the surface too. I found an interesting feature while dealing with wall in the paintings. As a medium, painting generally falls within the elite arts. But while making the wall as a theme I felt it could alter the dynamics attached to this sophisticated medium. Wall as a site is public. It is a palimpsest of various inscriptions, which talk about various ideologies and traits of the existing society. It’s a site of contestation where contradicting ideologies compete to get larger visibility in the public domain. The wall graffiti’s and the wall writings all over the world have been 'the primary' and sometimes even the sole carrier of the publics opinions in these times of complete state-corporate control of media.
While painting the wall, it gave me a sense of entitlement to present my views without the worry of being censored. As the wall writings have the sense of anonymity, I could express my views as an anonymous person does. It becomes recorded within the already existing images in that surface. Also, as an artist, I took the creative freedom of de-contextualising images from anywhere right from web, to photographs, to my child’s drawing and putting it on the same surface where the images themselves enter a field of tension and start making new alliances and connections according to the viewer’s discretion. Also it enabled me to side within certain statements which were not be overtly visible. This series in that sense maintains my role within absence & presence.
Born 1980, Andhra Pradesh
Education
B.F.A. in printmaking, fine arts dept.,Andhra University, Visakhapatnam (A.P.), 2002
M.F.A. in printmaking, faculty of fine arts, M.S.University Baroda, 2004
Group Shows
2014
Regional Art Exhibition Lalit Kala Akademi, Chennai
2013
Refraction at Red Earth Art Gallery, Vododara
A group show of water colour SITE Art Gallery, Baroda.
Show Stoppers (impressions from the south east) at Florida, USA
2012
‘The new south-telugu tongues’ with Apparao Galleries at Aman hotel, New Delhi
2011
“Bollywood”, at Arushi Art Gallery, New Delhi
‘The big picture’ -2 group show in Bangalore at gallery Leela palace and Sumukha
‘Baroda march’ at Strand Art room, Mumbai
‘Art Chennai’ in collaboration with Apparao Gallery + Lalit Kala, Chennai
2010
’One by one’ at faculty of fine arts, Baroda
Group show at Gallery 1X1, Dubai in association with Gallery Latitude 28
‘April salon’ a group show at Gallerie Mirchandani+Steinrueke, Mumbai
2009
‘The big picture’ group show in Bangalore at Gallery Sumukha Association with India foundation for the Arts.
2008
A group show at Cymroza Gallery in collaboration with Asmosis Gallery, Mumbai.
‘Imagined realities’ at Red Earth Art Gallery, Baroda
‘ AMAZING ‘- annual show by RPG academy of art and music Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai.
2007
‘Persistence’ group show at Museum Art Gallery, Mumbai Curetted by Osmosis Art Gallery, Mumbai.
‘Chronicle of the unspoken’ Travencore Art Gallery, New Delhi
2006
‘Modus operandi’ group show at ABS Art Gallery, Baroda
‘Intentions’ group show at Kaleidoscope Art Gallery, Baroda
“Prints paintings’ two man show at Progressive Art Gallery, New Delhi
2005
‘De priente’ printmaking show at Kaleidoscope Art Gallery, Baroda
‘Distilled ambers’ printmaking show at Alternative Art Gallery by Threshold Art Gallery, New Delhi
Awards & Scholarships
Transpek-Silox Industry Limited, Vadodara., 2010
77th AIFACS, National level award, new Delhi, 2005
Honorable mention award, 2004, 6th international print biennial, Bharat Bhavan, Bhopal
National scholarship, 2004, dept. of culture, (H.R.D.) New Delhi
Telugu university scholarship, 2003, Hyderabad
Camps
ITM-SAAD, Art Symposium 2012,I TM University,Halol, Vadodra
Art Camp-Flora Construction and Development Vizag, 2010
Works in collection
Tasveer Arts pvt. Ltd.,Bangalore
Uttarayan foundation,Baroda
RPG Enterprize,Mumbai
Transpek-silox industry ltd.,Baroda
Chhap digital, Ahmedabad
Alembic group, Baroda
ITM university, art symposium, Baroda
Supreme Industries Pvt.ltd.,Mumbai
B.A .Reserch Pvt.ltd, Ahmedabad
