Artist Statement
Freedom and rebellion are recurring themes in my work. Like most women raised in India, I have been subjected to many stereotypes. And I choose to break free every chance I get. This attitude strongly influences my art practice. I studied to be and worked as a hardware engineer for many years but was intent on making time to practice art. As a self-taught artist with a tech background, my studio practice includes manipulating material collected from social media. Each piece begins with a digital deconstruction and alteration of both form and color which lends a contemporary graphic quality to my work. Embracing the bold and vibrant colors of my culture, my paintings feature separated fields of ink and flat planes of acrylic paint that direct the composition and energy of the work.
I am currently working on an ongoing body of work entitled "Repost". Sourced from real motorcyclists and their authentic experiences, "Repost" is a series of paintings on canvas resulting from my personal community outreach through Instagram to source photographs from individuals. While it started as a 30 day painting challenge, it developed into work that connected me to fellow riders through tagging and reposting and created a community of motorcycle and art lovers. This tight knit community shared openly and generously developing intimate connections through this social media platform speaking to how technology can feed into humanity without the physical experience.
Another ongoing series entitled “Photo Credit: Toll Booth” takes a step beyond collecting imagery created by humans. The images shown in this series are photos taken by the fully automated Golden Gate Bridge toll booth.
Every time I cross the bridge to enter San Francisco, I do something unique while passing the toll booth, at times a written message or a hand gesture. The 3 week long wait for the toll invoice with the tiny black and white grainy photo is exciting and filled with curiosity. This intentional well versed experience truly reveals how various means of media inform the narrative of our experience and our dependence on media even when pursuing rebellious and freeing acts such as riding one's motorcycle. There is a feedback cycle that has become integral to our experience in validating moments in life. Ironically, this particular series touches upon surveillance and perceived ideas of freedom and questions how the experience of the individual and media intersect.