Can you tell a story without words?
The day of my grandmother’s laryngectomy, the storyteller I’d known all my life suddenly became silent. She is the inspiration for my art and why I believe, above all, my role as an artist is that of a storyteller: someone who can illuminate narratives even in silence.
It’s what pushed me to begin “The Stories of and Before Me,” a collection of art I started in March 2023. Through it, I seek to honor not only her story, but those of my family and own: how they continue to shape the person I not only am today, but am becoming. It is how I pay homage to my culture and past—who I am as an Indian-American in the United States, a sister, a granddaughter, a scientist.
The moment I find a story I worth sharing, I look to my world to find a single scene and moment that can convey it: one I can take a photo of. Deeply influenced by still life, color becomes central to this pursuit: the vibrant, hyper-saturated colors of “Citrus Symphony” represent the pure bliss behind the scene, my family’s annual trips to a fruit orchid. In stark contrast, the black-and-white tones of “Please, Just Hold Me” become one more element to convey the painful absence of joy.
The paintings and drawings I create become akin to frames in a camera—stilling and preserving scenes, and within them, stories.
Click the ▶ button next to each collection name to open each one!