Growing up, I trusted light completely. Light taught me everything- the delicate form of a bulbul’s feather, the multitude of colours on a “brown” tree bark, the smooth texture of waxy petals ... it was my medium for accurate observation. Light in a way, was my first teacher, revealing to me the secrets of the physical world around me.
However, as I started to observe light itself, my entire understanding of the visual world changed. I learnt the fact that what we see is only a perception of what we think is real; that Light, is that one all-pervading constant that we use to see and understand this material world and yet we are deluded by this very same entity. I was fascinated to learn that light is very often the source of our confusion, disorientation, and can bring about differences in opinion. So how much could I trust light now?
To me, its bewitching how the most mundane of objects can be transformed into a spectacular entity the moment light hits it; and at the same time, it can create a particularly strange representation of someone or something that is considered beautiful or aesthetic. Sometimes objects or beings miraculously camouflage with their surroundings, and other times they appear to play tricks with space, completely altering our understanding of what’s in front of us. In my paintings I now acknowledge light as a mischievous creator, constructing our perceptions and beliefs of the ever-changing appearance of this ever-changing material world. Whether the landscape is natural or urban, light has the power to do both – to guide us, or to disorient and even tease us every now and then.
