Nehmat Mongia

The bowl that chipped during firing, failed experiments while blowing glass at NID, bent metals nails, the first bead I created at Purdilnagar or my glaze explorations on clay, not forgetting the discarded wooden tray at home or a piece of wood from the bonfire, would resonate with me and became a part of my collection. I constantly look through waste for unique textures and forms and bring them back to my studio. As an artist with a practice that ranges across different mediums, I always go back to my archive of these explorations and experiments to consistently incorporate it in newer works and ways. While doing my BFA, I started studying animal and huma anatomy. Sketch books and canvas rolls lead me to see forms everywhere- in splashes of water colour, crushed tissue paper and even water seepag on the wall. It was almost like hallucinating and visualizing characters. I cannot resist the urge to bring these character to life from my archive of materials. This lead me to assemble this series of mix media portraits which have their own identity, evolved through assemblage into new characters expressing different emotions and feelings.