Shrimanti Saha

Lives and works in Vadodara, Gujarat, India

Artist statement

My practice involves the developing of layered story structures with references from a range of sources like colonial history, literature, film, mythology, comic books, art history, science fiction, natural history, Indian miniature painting, architecture, news reports, encyclopedia illustrations as well as memory, conversation and personal experiences. This leads to the formation of dystopian landscapes with visceral characters, dream like scenarios and evocative narratives; which can be read as a personal mythology, alternative history or as a collection of “untold stories”. The thought process behind my work, is almost like a writer and the manifestation happens mainly through the act of using Drawing as a language to discover and unravel the stories; which are often fictional and focuses on theme and symbolism. Lately, I have been exploring the areas of ecology, feminism, human-animal relationships with the intention to create a set of stories which is reminiscent of a fictional civilization, as well as an analysis of the Anthropocene or the dominant human action and influence on climate and environment.

Artwork

• Landscape with Pink pool, 2021. Mixed media on paper
• Fire in the Museum, 2022. Graphite, water colour, pencil colour, gouache on paper
• Bulldozer Babu, 2019. Stop motion animation
• The Soldier and his boat, 2017. Graphite, pencil colour, water colour, acrylic on paper
• Skin scroll, 2017. Graphite, pencil colour, water colour, acrylic, print on paper
• Primate interactions, 2021. Mixed media on paper
• The Apparition, 2021. Mixed media on paper
• Repair work, 2020. Graphite, pencil colour, water colour, casein on paper
• Fountain of Youth, 2022. Oil on linen
• The Land and the Lore, 2018. Graphite, pencil colour, water colour, casein, collage on paper
• Daydreaming, 2022. Oil on linen
• City of Djinns, 2022. Graphite, pencil colour, water colour, casein on paper
• Untitled, 2019. Graphite, pencil colour, water colour, collage, print, acrylic, gesso on wall
• The Pangolin Crisis, 2020. Graphite, pencil colour, water colour, casein on paper
• Fire in the Greenhouse, 2020. Graphite, pencil colour, water colour, casein on paper
• The Fountain, 2020. Graphite, water colour, pencil colour, casein on paper