In reflecting on my life in India and in America, I find many cultural variants as well as parallels. My work is about creating passages between these two cultures and locating places of intersection. I strive to situate my identity beyond singularity, in a pluralistic framework that lies at the intersection of race, class, gender and sexuality.
My work has evolved from the photographic and concrete to conceptual installations. I experiment with various fine arts media to find what best fits the aims of a specific project. In this way, art mediums have informed my artistic career. I have worked with holography, photography, graphics, painting, artist books, fiber arts, film, glassblowing and casting. Most of my art forms incorporate the concept of time. In my installations I use light as a way to complicate the concept of “real time.”
My artwork also informs my personal growth. I use a variety of media to respond to the daily events and happenstance that provide opportunities for self-awareness. I critically examine and complicate my awareness through the creation of art, in order to situate my self-knowledge within a larger social context. This way of making art has contributed to my development as an art therapist and fueled my interest for working with marginalized populations.
While understanding pluralistic existence and exploring cultural and social variants through my self-reflexive process has helped me understand my role as an art therapist, I also derive much of my knowledge from the co-creation of community with my clients. I make available a variety of media to my clients; together we rely on our collective knowledge of materials and processes to aide us in creating. Through art making clients are able to record and acknowledge their lived experiences, and to gain deeper understandings of their identities. The process of creating with and alongside my clients has helped me examine the notion of empowerment in relation to different contexts and societies. I employ art making to bring visibility to the social issues and concerns to which I bear witness in my work with clients, and to collectively work with clients and peers towards social change.
My work has evolved from the photographic and concrete to conceptual installations. I experiment with various fine arts media to find what best fits the aims of a specific project. In this way, art mediums have informed my artistic career. I have worked with holography, photography, graphics, painting, artist books, fiber arts, film, glassblowing and casting. Most of my art forms incorporate the concept of time. In my installations I use light as a way to complicate the concept of “real time.”
My artwork also informs my personal growth. I use a variety of media to respond to the daily events and happenstance that provide opportunities for self-awareness. I critically examine and complicate my awareness through the creation of art, in order to situate my self-knowledge within a larger social context. This way of making art has contributed to my development as an art therapist and fueled my interest for working with marginalized populations.
While understanding pluralistic existence and exploring cultural and social variants through my self-reflexive process has helped me understand my role as an art therapist, I also derive much of my knowledge from the co-creation of community with my clients. I make available a variety of media to my clients; together we rely on our collective knowledge of materials and processes to aide us in creating. Through art making clients are able to record and acknowledge their lived experiences, and to gain deeper understandings of their identities. The process of creating with and alongside my clients has helped me examine the notion of empowerment in relation to different contexts and societies. I employ art making to bring visibility to the social issues and concerns to which I bear witness in my work with clients, and to collectively work with clients and peers towards social change.
