Wild India Project
Since 2021…
At present I am producing an extensive series of paintings about human/ wildlife interactions in India. Any habitat in which humans and wildlife cross paths, is shaped by narratives, practices and experiences of conflict and co-existence. I explore this theme through reflections on both childhood memories from the Kaza and Spiti Valleys of Himachal Pradesh; as well as through more recent experiences in tiger habitats in India (in the National parks of Pench, Kanha, Bandhavgarh, Kaziranga, the Great Himalayan National Park, Corbett Tiger Reserve, and the Sariska Tiger Reserve).
— WORKS —
In my studio in Cape Town, I draw on field notes, memories, dreams and sketches to process the time I spent in wild spaces. This series also interweaves aesthetic elements of 16th/17th century Indian court paintings, 19th century traditions of natural history drawings, and my own involvement with depicting ecological complexity and interdependence through rich visual detail. My conversation across artistic traditions surfaces questions about inter-generational responsibilities and the equilibrium of protecting both human life and wildlife in the midst of climate breakdown.
From Within and Without | Oil Pencils, Watercolour & Gold Gouache on Paper | 2022
Nature has always informed my work. Having grown up in areas contiguous with wildness has had a profound impact on my psyche. In a way I don’t see myself as separate from nature but part of it. In striving to understand more about the living planet I hope to uncover more about myself and us as a species. I use animals and plants for motifs for things I can’t use people to describe. They stand for the values of interdependence and symbiosis that I value in human relationships as well.
