F r a g m e n t s/Chaos: Mixed Media

Artist Statement

These selected works incorporate a variety of subjects and approaches, but one can look to pandemonium as a unifying theme or language. Time melts and decays and forms intertwine, entangle, and obscure. The reflection of a person we think is smiling into the camera does not appear as flawless as intended, yet is still beautiful in its own monster(human)ness. And humanity is an infinite muse.

Born in Kolkata, India, urban surroundings inevitably become an influence in my creative art practice. Living in an over-populated and chaotic city, everything overlaps, and humanity cannot hide behind closed doors or white picket fences. The entire world enters here (especially writers, artists, and performers) to celebrate the unique textures and flavors that layer one on top of another at nearly every turn—buildings, billboards, tea stalls, goats, gods, scooters, dust, the people. These layers filter my vision and emerge, likewise, as layers of pigment upon the page. Watercolor often becomes the most convincing medium to capture this quality of my work.

From the time of my childhood, I’ve watched families grow and households fall apart. Sometimes dreams come true, and sometimes dreams are broken, vanquished into oblivion. It’s during these times that true character emerges. I’m interested in how one responds to these circumstances and prefer to explore the darker side of change. Life is impermanent, and all we can do is grasp on to every wild moment while we can. For some, it is a pleasurable experience; others a quiet struggle, and for some, it’s a traumatic desperation—facing one’s undeniable fate. As an artist, it’s the emotions encompassed by the latter categories which most hold my interest. My work faces this particular pathos, lost memories, broken dreams, and unrealized destiny.