ADITI SINGH
Fantasy woven with organic, botanical forms

The 37-year-old Gauhati-born artist has the happy expression of an expectant mother. Aditi Singh, who worked on her solo show for three years, insists that her work is not divorced from what her body is going through.
“When I show anywhere I am so engrossed my work that it’s like I am sending it out to the world at large. However, I do look forward to individual responses to the work.”

Been there: The outdoorsy Singh did her MFA at the University of Pennsylvania and came to settle in Mumbai after a fair share of globetrotting. “Gauhati is my native place as that is where my grandparents were stationed. My extensive travelling has informed my experience subconsciously.”

First solo: Standing Still Like The Hummingbird in 2008, at Chemould Art Gallery.

Environment of choice: Singh enjoys being out in nature and exploring the geometry and illusion of perfection that nature presents her with.

Reacts positively to: The colour red.

Select medium: Diverse range of works on paper executed in charcoal and watercolours.

Form: Organic, botanical forms woven in with fantasy. “Working with a single form is about understanding a structure and deconstructing it, be it a botanical form, the disposition of the night sky or an ephemeral action like flying.”

Current price: One and a half lakhs for the small works and seven to seven and a half lakhs for the larger works.

PUJA PURI
Monochromatic works influenced by old photographs

Puja Puri looks and sounds younger than a 31-year-old, but the Kolkata-born Punjabi girl holds her own amidst artistic speculation.

Been there: Puri has completed her Bachelor’s in Fine Arts at College of Art in Delhi and her Master’s at Baroda. She also secured a Chelsea Scholarship that took her to London for a year.

First solo: In Mumbai at Kitab Mahal in 2007.

Dips brush into: Currently her work is bereft of colour. “I see the world in black and white. In fact I derive my inspiration from old black photographs,” says Puri. Her earlier artwork resembled photographs while her current body of work is mainly drawings.

Select medium: Graphite on paper, with canvases from Italy. “The pencil as a medium really entices me because of the dexterity behind it.” Her recent work adds a touch of primary colours.

Choice of medium: “My work has always been referential – I began looking at old photos of my family and my grandmother who lived in Lahore before Partition. I studied photography in London, where I did a series on old furniture being sold off at the flea market. I really am fascinated by old memories and in this case I was looking at Colonialism, of being an Indian in England.”

Influenced by: Sigma Polke, Dayanita Singh, Vivan Sundaram and Pushapamala N. “I like their work since a lot of it is influenced by old photographs. I believe a photograph is a vignette of the whole world.”

Current rate: A little over a lakh for 22x30 paperwork.