Nature Series 1

Available Variations:

• 12"X18" 100 pieces (piece size C)
• 12"X18" 250 pieces (piece size A)
• 18"X24" 250 pieces (piece size B)
• 18"X24" 500 pieces (piece size A)
• 24"X30" 750 pieces (piece size A)

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In each of my artworks, the intended meaning is depicted through obvious, yet minimal, visual cues in the form of shapes, textures, or colors. I often ask my audience "What do you see here?". Most often than not, they understand the theme of the work without me explaining it. The beauty of this interaction is that in addition to my intended meaning, they add a wonderful new layer of interpretation based on THEIR unique perception. Unconsciously tapping into their memories and experiences, they lend a little bit of themselves to my artwork. This shared meaning helps me and my patrons connect on a deeper level. So dear patron, I invite you to first pause, think about what you see in this piece of work, add a bit of yourself to it, and then I offer you my vision as follows:

The Nature series is a part of a larger collection inspired by my perspective on Cities and settlements. From a reductionist point of view, a city has three key elements: the natural landscape, the built landscape and people. The interaction between these, at varying scales, creates the character, memory, and experience of the place. The nature series is centered on the human interaction with the natural landscape, and this piece in particular is about how the energy of the sun is vital to all life on earth as well as the production of food. The warmth of the sun represented by the bold use of red and yellow is contrasted by the textures in black representing different kinds of soil, and the white negative space as a mnemonic for the clouds. The interaction between all these natural elements creates different growing conditions and one such instance is depicted in the painting. Towards the left of the painting, there is an abstraction of the fields in a valley, intersected by a large circle reminiscent of a traditional farm-cart wheel. Two things to note about the techniques used in this work: 1) All black textures are created with only two different nib sizes by varying the pressure of the stroke; 2) In the original piece, the red and yellow are precisely cut pieces of colored paper.

This series was pivotal in motivating me to undertake a new experiment to represent the delicate relationship of built ecosystems with natural environments and people. I wanted to express my perspective not just through the subject of my artworks, but also by letting it flow outwards in how I represent the finished work itself. Hence, I decided to start capturing my work against the dynamic backgrounds of the city. The first was a simplistic attempt, shot on Poste de Flacq beach in Mauritius on the occasion of Earth Day in 2018 which led to a formal and well planned shoot later that year in the city of Mumbai. This project is very close to my heart as it is my homage to the wonderful city of Mumbai that I called home for 5 years; through the depiction of its architecture, its geographic features, its people, and their busy lives. Check out the images from the shoot here.

Original Medium: Mixed Media on Paper.