Artist Statement

I am made of mercury & have been polished in such a way that one can see themselves echoing clearly in me. I call myself a mirror. I am as fragile as glass but can still reflect the absolutely bitter & unbeatable reality of life. I am society. I am media. I am artist. I call my works, neither a painting nor sculpture nor any medium; but a reflection of your thoughts, dreams, desires and fears. As fragile as an unborn child… as pure as holy water… as dark as a moonless night… as innocent as an infant’s smile… my work emerges from the realities and illusions unfolding incessantly around me…

What is the world telling me? It is not something I see with my naked eyes but can sense and feel deep inside. If senses are freed from locks of material experience, we could feel the world on a completely different dimension. I have always strived to unlock the rusted bolts and clogs of human mind through my paintings. They might never ever want to open. There is something more thought-provoking behind the noun idea which I call the ‘illusion’.

The illusionist forms are those which you see while thinking, sleeping, even while walking. Many times we tend to sense such forms or a drama around, and we feel like we have seen it before. Then comes the fright for those unseen things, many a times non-existing. Where are those unseen forms or situations born? May be in each one of our minds. I feel those within and they take shape through my work. They spill out the secrets and facts alike. They reflect my world and yours as well, and of anyone to dares to bear their minds.

- Rachana Nagarkar