The Feminine Psyche on canvas

Different shades of women's emotions were brought out in mixed media works by artist Sandya Shankar Patnaik, in her recent show ‘The Feminine Self’ at Gallery Space, Banjara Hills. Sandya Shankar Patnaik has been involved in exploring the ‘feminine psyche’ for quite some time as well as articulating its concerns.

“Being a female I am very much fascinated by jewellery and clothes which I try to imbibe in my paintings,” she says. About her passion for painting she says, “In my childhood I used to draw on the backside of my school books which later became a passion.”

One can make out that Sandya is attempt to locate the self within the contours of familiar identities of the individual, the lover/companion and the mother. She then viscerally dissects these assumed roles and tries to reassemble and arrive at an image which probably transcends all these.

‘The Feminine Self’ is also an act which is quintessentially autobiographical in nature. At the deepest level, it is revelatory; giving glimpses of unknown and unseen facets of one's own self. For Sandya as such, the act of painting ultimately becomes an act of revelation.

In the very act of building up an image through constant obliteration and through overlaying of paint and textures and text, lies the act of stripping the self off of its veils to reveal it. “I want to show the beauty of a woman and also want to show that how strong is a woman from the inside,” she shares.

The female figure in Sandya’s work is often depicted in a decontextualised fashion, fueled with colour, either singular or with other companion figures but still seemingly resplendent in her solitairness.

By:Askari Jaffer