Meghna Patpatia

Artist Meghna Patpatia’s practice explores creatures, natural forms synergising and adapting to dystopic environments. An Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant awardee, she creates detailed ink painted drawings on varied surfaces. Some of her work is now being exhibited, alongside Argentinian Artist Julia Romano’s, at Tao Art Gallery’s ongoing exhibition, Dreamscapes, curated by Sanjana Shah. 

Below, the artist gives us insight into her artistry and the exhibition:

The Artist
I was always inclined to create art as a child and it was very clear to me early on in life that I would be either creating art or doing something very closely related to the art making process. So it was the most natural step to my family and me to pursue studying Painting at Sir.J.J.School of Art, Bombay.

The Inspiration and Influences
Our everyday surroundings, the environment, mythology-stories, diverse landscapes, patterns seen and felt everywhere create imagery for me. Ideologies of great writers and artists like Herman Hesse, Lyall Watson, J.R.R Tolkien, Abanindranath Tagore, Ganesh Pyne, Kiki Smith to name a few and many more fantasy, artists, fictional storytellers have influenced my art explorations. Recently, Pranay Lal’s book Indica: A Deep Natural History of the Indian Subcontinent, has given me a lot of insights into our Indian landscapes and marvels that helped further my insight into diverse terrains.

The Art
The coexistence and adaptation of natural forms to our everchanging landscapes creates many different patterns visually, I attempt to capture that sensation into my drawings. I’m intrigued by the survival of species from different epochs and their journey of witnessing and surviving so many changes in their surroundings might have been. I repetitively draw these formations and endangered species witnessing a change in the environment in a way to honour them and record their existence through my art.

Dreamscapes at Tao Art Gallery
With the pandemic dictating a whole new decorum of existing for us all, my art practice explored the notion of being confined and thriving in our own self-sustaining bubbles of existence. This brought about a new series of works amongst others that you see in the Dreamscapes exhibition titled Analog Terrarium wherein I have painted thriving creatures, life forms within a circular composition in my painted drawings. Seen in the exhibition are experimental painted assemblages with handmade magnified glass globes that I’m exhibiting for the first time, these are all reflective of our current epoch.

Much like a terrarium which is a forest that has a self-sustaining ecosystem within a glass globe, my art making resonated with that sensation of existence for Dreamscapes.

The Future
Firstly, with the lockdown rules slowly lifting I’m hoping to travel and be outdoors a lot more freely! I will continue to make works and experiment with new mediums, there are exhibitions and art fairs in the pipeline, stay tuned!