Traveling with Tangled Thoughts

Oil on Canvas (48"X 48")
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    • |   by Uji Venkat   

       

      Ritika, I am fascinated by the characters in this painting. I see an amalgamation of melancholy and exhaustion. The pensive woman, perhaps also the immediate focus of the audience’s attention, wears a disinterested or disconnected expression that could blend in with the crowd. However, her reflection in the window has her eyes clearly focused on the viewer. Perhaps from the outside, as an omniscient audience, we are actually able to see her inside in the reflection. Who or where did you derive your inspiration from for this piece?

    • |   by Ritika Sharma   

      Thank you so much for your intrinsic observation, the character painted here is a self portrait, and this painting is an expression of continuous transition from physical to mental which usually happens when one is in a fixed state or posture for the time being. This painting is an amalgamation of the objects and forms that I observe during my travel in the city, it deals with the notion of mentally being in some other place and simultaneously being aware of one's physical presence too.

    • |   by Uji Venkat   

      Thank you for the insight into your piece! It seems this is the only piece where you have chosen to paint yourself. What was that decision guided by?

      I like that you shared your simultaneous consciousness with the audience and left the other characters for the audience to wonder. They too have that combination of physical and mental consciousness but seeing your perspective, we don't have purview into their mental space. It exists, but like in the passing of strangers in public transportation, we are not privy to this information.

      When did you start sketching in buses? Are these renditions born out of your sketches or mental recollections of what you observed? I'm interested in the details that you obscure versus those that you expand on, whether instinctual or intentional.