2022 was a year of great excitement and adventure for me.
I had my solo exhibition- ‘Falak’ in June at the CCA at Bikaner House, New Delhi. I had looked forward to this exhibition for nearly 3 years. Thanks to Ms.Tripat Karla, Founder-Director of Gallerie Nvya and Ms Uma Nair- Art critic and curator, for making it a huge success.
Right after, I started my Artist Residency in the French countryside of Champagne-Ardenne in the month of September at Chateau Orquevaux. The residency had gotten delayed due to Covid for 2 years and as life went on I forgot the initial excitement I felt when i got accepted into the residency. But once I reached the Orquevaux village, I felt the magic of nature- pristine and raw. There was so much beauty it felt unreal. It was a 4 week residency. The first week just flew off acclimatising to all that beauty and silence. The people and food were exceptional making it easy to feel at home. With my fellow artists and writers I formed a bond of friendship and mutual respect. We exchanged stories like long lost friends, no one was a stranger.
At the Chateau we all had our individual studios and rooms. But it was the Salon and the dining room where we all could be found when we were not in the studios working.
My work changed in character , such was the influence of the place and the people there. The Banyan has wisdom, and Orquevaux had magic in its veins.
Four wonderful weeks of nothingness and silence, of no responsibilities other than creating, of discussing endlessly our work and the art world.
I did 4 works there, all of them an emotive response to the splendour and quietness of Orquevaux. I named the series ‘Tana-Bana’, meaning warp and weft. The magic of the place, the friends I made, the love we shared of creativity and expression, and more … were all woven together in my heart and I happily threw paint on my canvases, making a drum beat to the music I felt.
