I am happy to share that I am a 2018-19 Fulbright U.S. Scholar Research Grant recipient.
Topic: Type and Culture: A Study of Type Design trends in Devanagari script and their Influences Over the Years.
My Fulbright research was focused on Devanagari script, subsequently I have expanded on this focus to explore the relevance of the script to art and design and how it reflects the community and culture. I am interested in experimental type and integrating methods of design and art with goal of designing spaces for a meaningful human experience.
There is inevitable synergy between my research focus and my work as a visual artist. In my research I have found that script art is instrumental in influencing, and widely used to influence, perceptions. Art has the power to raise consciousness and transform lives, as it can alter how we think about ourselves, our society, and our culture. My scholarly creative work endeavors to foster an empathetic and authentic experience for the viewer as it creates a space for the viewer to relate the visual(s) to their own experiences at an emotional and visceral level.
As I progress, I will be sharing more in this space.These playful amalgamations speak to identity and diaspora. As someone with a hyphenated identity myself, I search and transform my transnational experiences as a powerful source of my creativity. Drawing amongst others, from Arabic, Devanagari, Hebrew, and Tibetan scripts; these works talk of the array of diversity within the myriad communities and journeys with ultimately finding belonging. They hint at the stories and build community.
Diaspora Musings Series, Acrylic on canvas, 12" x 12"
Diaspora Musings Series, Acrylic on canvas, 12" x 12"
Here I am playing with the letterforms.. where the shapes/forms/spaces take a life of their own.. seem like almost dancing.... Some of these forms are true Devanagari letterforms and some are just... inspired forms. In these works I am alluding to the commonalities between ancient scripts from around the world.
Cosmic Reflections, Acrylic in Canvas, 12" x 12"
Mystic Vibrations, Acrylic in Canvas, 12" x 12"
Times Past and Present eludes to older architectural forms which often depicted scripts, all the while teasing in Devanagari letter forms conveying an expression, a feeling, a mood.
Times Past and Present, Acrylic on canvas, 30" x 40"
Shades of Shiva, Acrylic on canvas, 18" x 24"
In these paintings, Explorations, I am experimenting with and playing with the sheer beauty of the letter forms.
Believing that typography isn’t just for content, I engage in the complexities of painting as a medium and examine type as an art form in of itself. With the art of font, a wide range of cultural references come into play creating evocative typography art: be it the phenomena of collision or almost sculptural.
Reverberations, Acrylic on canvas, quadriptych 36" x 48
