Studio 4: Contours of Identity

Studio 4: Contours of Identity

Imagination, nurtured by individuality, blossoms into boundless forms when integrated with artistic expression. Each artist in this studio reveals how the hand can lead the mind into acts of discovery, where colours, textures, and gestures bloom into living expressions of thought. Rooted in personal histories, these works transcend monotony, transforming material and process into varied reflections of the self. Individuality transpires at the core of artistic expression, breathing life and fluidity into each work of art. 

Through her exploration of materiality and process, Radhika Khimji deconstructs and subverts constructions of identity, questioning categorisation and reconfiguring objects to free them from their historical and conceptual constraints. Thumb Nail is driven by a pursuit of perpetual displacement, generating a kaleidoscopic shifting where form, meaning, and identity remain fluid. Parag Tandel’s Cerebral Buddha series, inspired by nine global Buddhist stupa structures, is both a cultural archive and a form of resistance, centred on the idea that local forms carry universal resonance. Through her practice, Amba Sayal-Bennet crosses the thresholds of fixed meaning, her works embodying processes of translation and abstraction to question boundaries, presence, and the diasporic movement of form and knowledge. 

A constant exploration of the interplay between light and colour lies at the heart of Collage #1 and #2, drawing upon multiple art forms to reflect the richness of visual experience. For Dashrath Patel, art was never bound to a single discipline. His works embody the many facets of Indian culture; old and new, urban and rural - where vivid hues mirror the layered, manifold presence of colour in everyday life. Shambhavi Singh’s Hasiya/Sickle reflects on the relationship between man and nature, rooted in her rural childhood in Bihar. Dream-like yet profound, her paintings evoke both hope and rebirth while confronting the fears of the unknown, offering viewers an introspective journey into the human condition. Dipesh Raj draws layers of distortion, fragmentation, and symbolic forms, transforming memories into striking visual expressions. Reflecting on the tension between presence and withdrawal, the Study of Grass series attempts to bridge the past and present in search of an intuitive future. 

Gaurav Gupta explores the perceptual and sonic qualities of painting through expressive brushwork and layered pigmentation. Working with a restrained palette and an additive process, his marks function as visual soundbites, recording the ricocheting energy of urban life while inviting slow, contemplative looking. For Mehlli Gobhai, painting becomes an act of renewal and a dialogue between spare lines and burnished surfaces. Stripped to essentials, his compositions revolve around the body's axis, with abstract structures reduced to the most raw, tactile forms. The work exhibited is one of the artist’s rare works in vivid colour, from the series, Don’t Ask Me About Colour, circa 1970s.