by pranavi agarwal
Oil on canvas
h: 120 w: 90 d: 2 (cms).
This painting is a self-portrait alongside two versions of my mother: on the left, her on her wedding day, and on the right, her as she is today. I draw deep inspiration from fellow South Asian diasporic artist Amrita Sher-Gil, the Indian Hungarian painter who once declared: “Europe belongs to Picasso, Matisse, Braque and many others. India belongs only to me". Her paintings 'Three Girls' and ‘Mother India’ (both kept at the National Gallery of Modern Art in Delhi, which I visited last summer) were huge inspirations behind this work. Given the heavy times we live in, I have increasingly found myself looking back at my Indian heritage and early childhood in India, remembering a previous version of my family - all the things we left behind, but also the memories and traditions we inherit and carry with us today.
£8500 (As exhibited.)
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by pranavi agarwal
Oil on canvas
h: 120 w: 100 d: 4 (cms).
The art world remains predominantly white and Western, and there continues to be a love for Whiteness in the East: for example, skin whitening creams such as Unilever’s Fair & Lovely are still sold in South Asia. But things are changing: the British Museum hosted its first Indian-inspired Pink Ball, South Asian artworks are selling for record amounts, and in politics, the election of New York’s first South Asian mayor. All this is occurring in the emergence of my own artistic practice. The lines between East and West are blurring, and I, being from the diaspora, AM this blur. As the Venn diagram of cultures, ideas, and identities expands, those from the diaspora are best placed to navigate. After years of feeling like a citizen of a no-man’s land – from many and no places at the same time – I finally feel like this is my time: HERE I AM.
£8500 (As exhibited.)
Please Note: If you are overseas and interested in a purchase, please note that there will be additional costs for postage and packaging added to this price. Feel free to enquire about this using the button below.