Images of ubiquitous people and a fragile tenderness marks Simrin Mehra-Agarwal’s works

Simrin Mehra-Agarwal’s paintings are largely built around curious human figures and intriguing images of ubiquitous people. These are characters that tend to leave a lasting impression, and she emphasizes that the aim is to transpose or dislocate these individuals from their routine life, to relocate in her imaginary realm.

According to her, the collision of the imaginative and real gradually gives shape to a new image. She adds, “I make a conscious effort in my works to investigate the individual, the hidden personality and the dynamic development of the self.”

Interestingly enough, delightful moments drawn from her childhood memories stand out in her work. These usually get faded as the growing weight of concerns overshadow adult life. However, they appear as some of the strongest imageries in her work. By deftly exploring the relationship that exists between the biomorphic and the urban, the artist builds a rather complex maze of a truly fascinating imagery.

In the process, she displays the complexities, disparities and similarities within the biomorphic and the urban - one being curvilinear and the other being linear. There’s that contrast between the chaotic and the organized that the artist tries to capture. Elaborating on her art process and motivation, she has stated, “Exploring new places not only adds newer elements to my creations, but also allows me to make it more diverse. The process itself is as vital to her as the creation itself to her. She loves to experiment and has dabbled into digital and video art, photography, printmaking and mural painting.

At the heart of her artistic vision is a fragile tenderness. The realm is emphatically tragic, occasionally exuberantly joyful and relentlessly bizarre. It brings out the evocative power of her powerful figures and ideas. Her powerful idiom coupled with a bold vision look to challenge gender identities and existing hierarchies. The works are often metaphoric condemnation of today’s society, taking the viewers on an erotic odyssey they perhaps might be inhibited to embrace.