Harsheet Thukral

Concept note:

This body of work is a culmination of experiences, a journey examining and questioning the eternal question of identity, what endures life and who ‘we’ really are as individuals. They are my initiation into a world that has been created to sustain my being.  I have tried to break free from the traditional norms that insinuate my families ties and bonds, the family as a unit that has governed my being from the very start. This placement and displacement within the structure has led to various tracks. The questions of identity and experience that shape us as human beings have been addressed and explored hence, the small format of my work signifying the fragments of life, how we compartmentalize our life and thoughts to exist within the social structure.

My immediate surroundings have been used as a take-off point and have been translated into a personalized idiom. The constant interplay of external realities versus those of my inner being have been much like the angel and the devil sitting on each shoulder of ours advocating their points, throwing us into a whirlwind of confusion leading to intense contemplation and introspection.

Most of the work is mixed media and pen and ink on paper. Sketching is an integral part of my oeuvre and has allowed me to capture the ebb and flow, the constant fluctuation between the society and personal aspirations with a spontaneity that they deserve.

The final result is a visual story book of the inevitable contradictions of life, the many “pulls” one feels as one searches for their reality within.

Work in Progress: