P U R N N A B E H E R A: Some canvases I do

Sunday, December 9, 2012

Some canvases I do

Reflection, acrylic on canvas, 48" x 48" (2012)

The mother, acrylic on canvas, 60" x 48" (2012)

Toward forward, acrylic on canvas, 120" x 48" (2012)

I mostly work on paper. But whenever I was in college (before 2007) I work more canvases than other medium. I always wish to make portraits of human. Cause I feel face is most important and expressive part of human body. You can see the state of mind and socio-cultural background in face. I grew up in a woman majority family. I trust female are more sensitive, responsible and honest than a male and they are the creator as god. In most of my work I have fantasized their dream, desire, love and hate. I tend to use female figures in a kind of surrealistic pictorial background.

This background acts as an interesting juxtaposition for me, at the same time it alienates the figure from its surrounding. The figures in my painting display illogical, arbitrary and contradictory relation with the surrounding space. This is very close to my life in an urban setup, where I am living. Here are some recent canvas work I am sharing...

In most of my work I tend to use human figures in a kind of surrealistic pictorial background. This background acts as an interesting juxtaposition for me, at the same time it alienates the figure from its surrounding. This seclusion of the body from its surrounding, gives it an iconic status. However as such, they are simple human beings. But there is a strong relation of the figure with the hostile space. In order to derive relationship of the figures with the surrounding one has to take the composition as a whole .The composition encompasses an organized and interconnected totality whose elements are needed to be understood as part of a comprehensive pattern. By bringing human figure in an imaginary landscape, I try to show the solitary condition of the individuals in the society.

The figures in my painting display illogical, arbitrary and contradictory relation with the surrounding space. This is partially due to the crucial involvement of my mind with the perplexed phenomenal world. This is how I feel, as if displaced from my world and brought to an unreal dream land, where most of the time I can’t relate to my surrounding environment.

Still being in an unreal hostile landscape these figures speak their own story. They talk about solitude, hermitage and survival. By this loneliness of the figure in my painting I try to show the singular effort of an individual in order to cope with his surroundings. This is very close to my life in an urban setup, where I am living. This body of work is based on my day to day life experiences. This is probably the most straight forward and clear statement that I can put forward in lines. But it is not as direct as it sounds.