Unseen Self

Unseen Self - This work is part of my ongoing exploration of identity, censorship, and power structures in contemporary South Asian society. Through hyper-realistic painting on an aluminum/board cutout, I bridge the disciplines of painting and sculpture, challenging the conventional boundaries of two-dimensional representation. The draped fabric, meticulously rendered in oil, evokes the aesthetics of censorship and concealment, both literal and symbolic. The negative space and cutout elements further reinforce themes of absence, erasure, and control. The semi-mirror effect in my practice, inspired by South Asian miniature painting traditions, is subtly referenced, allowing the viewer to engage with the work both visually and conceptually. By deconstructing classical visual narratives, I question the institutionalization of cultural, emphasizing how meaning is manipulated through selective visibility. This work encapsulates my broader engagement with themes of existential struggle, power, and the crisis of identity within systems of control.