MA degree show
WORK DOCUMENTATION
Tambde Devul ( The Red Temple)
Originally planning to create an actual sized wall panel and painting on it, due to practical limitations, I settled on a curved metal sheet, experimenting with how natural pigment reacted on metal and how to display it.
There were many challenges I faced during this work, especially because I was working on a metal sheet. One major challenge was testing how the naturally made soil would react on a metal surface. Even though I had applied thick layers of chalk and properly treated the sheet before working on it, it took me at least four to five attempts to successfully get it right. In the midst of the process, certain stains and dots began appearing as the pigment dried, and due to the short timeline for the MA show, I had to quickly find solutions by reprocessing the surface multiple times to achieve the final painting.
The main problem was that, since it was a natural pigment, no one could give me a clear answer on how to solve these issues and experimentation was the only way forward. Another challenge was creating a stand or plinth to place the sheet on. I initially wanted to make a table at eye level, but due to its size and length, that became difficult. Disucssions with Geraint Evans suggested that I work with something lower instead, and rather than making a sophisticated table, I should design something that resonated with my practice and sketches. I followed his advice, and it turned out to be a great success in the final outcome of the work.
experimental metal sheet
Experimenting how soil pigments react on metal surface
Metal sheet bending
pigment making from excavated laterite soil
Work in Progress
Making layout in Adobe Illustrator
Layout for cross-bar stand
CNC cut final base
The Smell of Salt and Steel ( Projection mapping)
Smell of Salt and Steel combined painting with video projection mapping. Initially, I had planned to work across multiple screens, but due to technical constraints and advice from technicians at Chelsea College of Arts, I focused on two projections alongside a single painting. The work required careful planning: I created a zigzag-shaped canvas to allow viewers to experience two perspectives simultaneously, one side showing the painting, the other the projected video. This setup aimed to give the work a duality, reflecting the layered memory and spatial experiences I was exploring.
The video documented Billingsgate Fish Market in London, contrasting it with the fish markets of Goa. I used audio recorded in Goa like the ringing of bells, market chatter, and the general bustle to create a sensory layer that tied memory, longing, and place together. Learning to use sophisticated projection mapping software, including MadMapper and MapMap, presented its own challenges. I had to troubleshoot angles, projection alignment, and timing to ensure the image fit the zigzag canvas. Every step from planning the projection layout to executing it on an irregular, folded surface became part of the work itself, reinforcing the connection between material, space, and memory.
original idea discussed with Nicholas Healy and Mariana Fantich- Chelsea college
Revised idea
first time experimenting projection mapping
Painting work in progress
Working with MAPMAP Projection software
Final video output
Small Longings
Studio Diary
Work in progress of new work
Work in progress 'Terracotta Floors', Oil, soil pigment on canvas
MA Show and Large-Scale Experimentation
installation view, MA Degree Show
Tambde Devul (The Red Temple), Metal sheet, chalk base, soil pigment, wood.
During the MA show, my practice was more ambitious in scale.
For my metal installation work, titled 'Tambde Devul', I explored Kaavi art, which I had been studying since Unit 2, and initially planned to create curved wall panels reflecting the original Kaavi walls in temples and churches. 'Tambe Devul' in my mother tongue, i.e. konkani language, literally translates to 'red temple'. The idea first came to me while I was searching for pigments and soil in Goa. It began when I visited a temple well-known for its Kaavi motifs. I searched for pigment in that area and eventually found the perfect red soil after excavating deep into the temple grounds. Throughout this process, as I was making the pigment, I kept thinking about what I should create on the metal sheet. I began reflecting on the history of the temple and how the craftsmen in earlier times used the same earth on the very surfaces they painted, grounding their art in the place it belonged to. That made me realise that if I was going to use pigment made from soil for the first time, I should honour the people, the temple, and the worshippers who have been connected to that space for generations.
This was my first time working directly with excavated soil, turning it into pigments, and documenting the temple from which it came.This thought was also influenced by my conversation with the Goan artist Sagar Naik Mule, who spoke about how creating images of gods from the soil of the same temple was, for him, a way of connecting art to god and god to the land. Inspired by this, I decided to use my documentation of the temple’s inhabitants and their worship as the foundation for my work. It also carried a personal connection; my own family has been worshipping at that temple for many years, adding another layer of meaning and continuity to the work.
Searching and Collecting laterite soil, Ponda,Goa.
Close up of 'Tambde Devul' installation work
Small Longings, Oil on Canvas
One of the first works I created for my MA show was my painting Small Longings. This piece was made shortly after I had finished reading Daniel Miller’s 'The Comfort of Things', a text that explores how objects and spaces shape personal and social life, offering intimacy, security, and emotional resonance. At that time, I was documenting people in various spaces, observing how they arranged their belongings and found moments of comfort within public or shared environments. As I completed the initial sketch on canvas and began painting, I realized that I had subconsciously composed a series of moments drawn from these observations, people finding solace in the presence of others, small gestures of care, or simply being nestled in quiet, intimate corners. The work became a meditation on how material environments and human interactions create a sense of security and belonging, echoing Miller’s notion that objects and spaces are not passive, but active participants in shaping human comfort and emotional life. In Small Longings, these observations crystallized into a composition that mirrored my own search for comfort and connection within the broader rhythms of daily life.
Close up of 'Small Longings' painting
The Smell of Salt and Steel, Oil on canvas, projection mapping on loop
This work was one of my major projects where I worked with professional projection mapping software. The works title ’The Smell of Salt and Steel’, originated from my decision to document a fish market, specifically, the Billingsgate Fish Market in London. I wanted to connect it to the fishing scenes in Goa, so I used audio recordings from Goan fish markets to create a layered memory that resonated with the atmosphere of the London market.Why I chose a fish market is something I can’t entirely explain, but fish has always been a strong symbol of my hometown. Goa, being a coastal state, holds fishing as an integral part of daily life, and through this work, I wanted to express that sense of influence and longing I carried with me in London.
When I first visited the fish market there, it instantly brought back memories of home, the sounds, the smell, the chaos while also revealing the contrast between Goa’s vibrant, crowded fish markets and London’s more structured, sophisticated ones. This intuitive connection inspired me to begin documenting different scenes at the market as a way of preserving that memory.For the painting, I combined some scenes of Goa to create the work and later decded to integrate projections to evoke a layer which i felt that the painting wasnt able to convey. I created a short moving-image piece of the market and overlaid it with audio from Goa like the bells, the chatter, the crowd, transforming it into an aural memory that shaped the atmosphere of the work.
'The Smell of Salt and Steel', video projection and painting