The memory of my formative years has been the time I spent in the beautiful hilly town of Diphu in Assam, where I was born and brought up. The flowers and birds that grew in abundance in the wilderness and the colourful landscapes were the profound ‘spaces’ I grew up in. This childhood fascination with the ‘sublime wild’ left a lasting impression and this affair with the wild deeply inspired me as an artist.
All of my works are blended on the same tones of celebrating nature and its authenticity depicts scenes of my childhood. Taking this inspiration and the etched impression, it is a deeper take on the past blissful memories and acts as a tribute to it. The nostalgia it holds was the underlying emotion that enhanced the paintings. In my present state of physical isolation from the past, my paintings attempt to conjure the past impression. The elements I painted in my painting is to take the elements deeper into the realm of fantasy. Visually, it has a hinge of unrealistic appeal notably in my usage of the hue of green, blue, purple, red, yellow and oranges which gives a dreamlike appeal to the seemingly mundane elements of nature. Objects of fruits such as bananas, berries, elephant apples (ou tenga), pumpkins; birds like hummingbirds and hornbill; plants of aloe, heliconia, lilies, orchids, palms, yams and insects like bees, butterflies, fireflies and grasshoppers, etc. have been deliberated upon. However, it should not be interpreted as a break from reality. In fact, I intended to create the ‘real’ ‘fantasy’ which enhances a deeper side of my imagination and expression. With vibrancy being a mark, it captures my longing for an idealised state of nature.
Nature and the sublime has always been the impetus of my work. It aims to celebrate and capture the aesthetic beauty of nature and the intricacies of the flora and fauna enhanced by my experiences with nature. Yet there also exists a binary, it intends to capture the beauty in its full appeal and paradoxically its evanescence too.
After I finished my BFA and MFA in Painting from the College of Arts, New Delhi, my life journey was not as smooth at first. I stumbled many times, even thought of giving up, however the turning point in my journey came in 2013 during the United Art Fair when I was noticed by designer/entrepreneur duo Rohit Gandhi and Rahul Khanna who founded Palette Art Gallery, New Delhi. In 2014, the Palette Art Gallery gave me the opportunity to do a solo show ‘The Secret Garden’. Ever since then my work is now permanently overseen by the gallery. My work exposure and popularity have tremendously increased. I even have my own loyal clientele who collects my art. All I am now is because of that one opportunity.
My desire and purpose are to awaken the audience to a serious awareness in seeing the spoiled nature around us where nature and its environment have been widely compromised by our insensate conduct. I hope and wish that it inspires us to act as conscious keepers of the nature that cradles us all.
Presently I am working on my upcoming solo which will be held in Gallerie Nvya in the mid of February 2022.
