article In conversation with
Srabani Ghosh
In conversation with
Srabani Ghosh
Srabani Ghosh's multifaceted practice explores
memory, human stories, and cultural heritage.
memory, human stories, and cultural heritage.
Srabani Ghosh's multifaceted practice explores
memory, human stories, and cultural heritage.
Srabani Ghosh is a London-based Indian visual artist. Working with clay, wood, ink, and textiles her work explores identity, faith, mental wellbeing, and social dialogue. Blending traditional techniques with contemporary themes, her sculptures, drawings, and collages invite reflection on human stories, memory, and cultural heritage
Artiq How did you begin your art practice?
Srabani Born in Doncaster in 1973 to Bengali parents, my creative journey has always been shaped by a blend of cultural influences and the pull of tradition. My mother, an artist and my father, an engineer, provided a foundation where art and science coexisted, sparking my early fascination with the world of creation. In 1977, my family emigrated to India, where I grew up in Mumbai, Delhi, and Kolkata—cities that played an integral role in shaping my artistic identity. I returned to the UK in 1997, where I built a career in consulting and raised my family. The birth of my second son in 2009 reignited my creative yearning. What started as simple line drawing to pass time at my son’s playgroup was to be the kick-start for my creative engine. Starting with short courses in 2010, by 2016, I had graduated with First Class Honours in Ceramic Design from Central Saint Martins, which formally set the foundations of my creative practice. My creative journey has been a way to honour the memory of my artist mother whom I lost at the age of 8. She was a ceramicist.
Srabani Born in Doncaster in 1973 to Bengali parents, my creative journey has always been shaped by a blend of cultural influences and the pull of tradition. My mother, an artist and my father, an engineer, provided a foundation where art and science coexisted, sparking my early fascination with the world of creation. In 1977, my family emigrated to India, where I grew up in Mumbai, Delhi, and Kolkata—cities that played an integral role in shaping my artistic identity. I returned to the UK in 1997, where I built a career in consulting and raised my family. The birth of my second son in 2009 reignited my creative yearning. What started as simple line drawing to pass time at my son’s playgroup was to be the kick-start for my creative engine. Starting with short courses in 2010, by 2016, I had graduated with First Class Honours in Ceramic Design from Central Saint Martins, which formally set the foundations of my creative practice. My creative journey has been a way to honour the memory of my artist mother whom I lost at the age of 8. She was a ceramicist.
Artiq You work in a range of mediums What draws you to certain, or new, materials and mediums?
Srabani Many of the materials that form the building blocks of my creative thinking have their roots in my childhood in Bengal. Memories of watching a potter at work in Ahmedabad left an indelible mark on my mind, igniting my passion for ceramics. Drawing, a refuge during my school years, remains a hallmark of my visual language, distinguishing my work on both paper and ceramics. My choice of colours and patterns in my work is deeply connected to the vibrant sarees and textiles from my childhood in Bengal.
It is important to me for the material and process to resonate with the story being told. These factors often have a strong bearing on my choices. As digital technologies reshape how we connect, I am drawn to celebrate analogue through my choice of materials and reference to traditions. I feel compelled to innovate and rethink ways of using ordinary materials to give life to contemporary stories and human phenomena. I want to draw viewers in by presenting surprising and unconventional ways of combining and collaging traditional materials such as ceramic, wool, paper, ink and wood.
Srabani Many of the materials that form the building blocks of my creative thinking have their roots in my childhood in Bengal. Memories of watching a potter at work in Ahmedabad left an indelible mark on my mind, igniting my passion for ceramics. Drawing, a refuge during my school years, remains a hallmark of my visual language, distinguishing my work on both paper and ceramics. My choice of colours and patterns in my work is deeply connected to the vibrant sarees and textiles from my childhood in Bengal.
It is important to me for the material and process to resonate with the story being told. These factors often have a strong bearing on my choices. As digital technologies reshape how we connect, I am drawn to celebrate analogue through my choice of materials and reference to traditions. I feel compelled to innovate and rethink ways of using ordinary materials to give life to contemporary stories and human phenomena. I want to draw viewers in by presenting surprising and unconventional ways of combining and collaging traditional materials such as ceramic, wool, paper, ink and wood.
Artiq You identify as a storyteller and actively engage with the social and human in your work. Can you speak more to how these inform your practice?
Srabani My formative years in Kolkata deeply influence my predisposition for storytelling. The city, a gateway to the Bay of Bengal and a land steeped in mythology, folklore, and the worship of clay, shapes my identity. I am fascinated by the universality of the condition of being human, which each of us uniquely experience as life unfolds. Despite the changing context of the times we live in, the phenomenon of being human remains largely unchanged. As an artist I am a reader and recorder of people. Through the use of age-old ordinary media, I give visual form to recurring micro-moments of everyday experiences and the nuances of dialogue, whether internal or between individuals. Through broad themes, I excavate the inner state of being human, transforming whimsical and imaginative ideas into physical-visual forms that reveal what lies beneath the surface. I am interested in uncommonly common stories that are often overlooked but universally experienced. I seek to present personal stories people can relate in a way that is both timeless and contemporary.
Srabani My formative years in Kolkata deeply influence my predisposition for storytelling. The city, a gateway to the Bay of Bengal and a land steeped in mythology, folklore, and the worship of clay, shapes my identity. I am fascinated by the universality of the condition of being human, which each of us uniquely experience as life unfolds. Despite the changing context of the times we live in, the phenomenon of being human remains largely unchanged. As an artist I am a reader and recorder of people. Through the use of age-old ordinary media, I give visual form to recurring micro-moments of everyday experiences and the nuances of dialogue, whether internal or between individuals. Through broad themes, I excavate the inner state of being human, transforming whimsical and imaginative ideas into physical-visual forms that reveal what lies beneath the surface. I am interested in uncommonly common stories that are often overlooked but universally experienced. I seek to present personal stories people can relate in a way that is both timeless and contemporary.
Artiq Much of your work features a scratching motion. How was this characteristic mark-making technique developed?
Srabani Drawing has been a language of expression from my girlhood. Drawing is mark making. Making a mark on a surface is an act of scratching. The act of mark making through scratching is a way to connect with the subconscious. Marking without thinking gives visual form to rhythm and pattern. For me, it is a process of accessing ancient ancestral haptic memory as well as a way to excavate latent reservoirs of observations that lay buried deep in the subconscious. Whilst at Central Saint Martins I began thinking of ways I could achieve the fine line marking of drawing on ceramic surfaces. Experimentation gave birth to the slip inlay and sgraffito innovations that have become distinguishing hallmarks of my ceramic surfaces. In combining mark making with sculpture, I realised I could enhance the sense of movement in each work. With the Pandemic, I moved to large-scale paper where I started to experiment with patterns I was using in my ceramics. This was when I noticed working with ink when repeated on a large scale gave rise to movement in the patterns. The use of pattern in this way has led to the creation of a unique visual language that brings depth and dynamism to my work. Scratching is a way of revealing. and as a storyteller, I seek to reveal what lies beneath.
Srabani Drawing has been a language of expression from my girlhood. Drawing is mark making. Making a mark on a surface is an act of scratching. The act of mark making through scratching is a way to connect with the subconscious. Marking without thinking gives visual form to rhythm and pattern. For me, it is a process of accessing ancient ancestral haptic memory as well as a way to excavate latent reservoirs of observations that lay buried deep in the subconscious. Whilst at Central Saint Martins I began thinking of ways I could achieve the fine line marking of drawing on ceramic surfaces. Experimentation gave birth to the slip inlay and sgraffito innovations that have become distinguishing hallmarks of my ceramic surfaces. In combining mark making with sculpture, I realised I could enhance the sense of movement in each work. With the Pandemic, I moved to large-scale paper where I started to experiment with patterns I was using in my ceramics. This was when I noticed working with ink when repeated on a large scale gave rise to movement in the patterns. The use of pattern in this way has led to the creation of a unique visual language that brings depth and dynamism to my work. Scratching is a way of revealing. and as a storyteller, I seek to reveal what lies beneath.
Artiq Your work blurs the boundaries between East and West both in theme and visuals. Can you expound upon the iconography that you utilise?
Srabani My early years spent in India set the lens through which I view my surroundings, forming the basis of the how I transcribe the observations I record. I view my life in Western society with my Eastern looking glass, melding both to create something that universally recognisable with a hint of other worldliness. The iconography I use takes the form of birds and fishes hidden amongst the patterns. Fishes have an important place in Bengali gastronomy and culture, often part of ceremonies marking birth, marriage and death. In Buddhism, the fish signifies the desire to be in harmony with one's environment. The bird, a universally recognized symbol of freedom, alludes to the yearning to break away from the humdrum tedium of the everyday. In my abstract figurative drawings, there is often an open eye. In my hometown of Kolkata, the master artisans who craft the great clay idols of the Goddess Durga have a painting of the eye ceremony that brings the idol to life. In making my work the finishing of the eye is left to the last, for opening of the eye is giving its form life. The bare feet that adorn my creatures are a symbol of dynamism and movement, reminiscent of the dancing images found in frescos and statues across Hindu iconography.
Srabani My early years spent in India set the lens through which I view my surroundings, forming the basis of the how I transcribe the observations I record. I view my life in Western society with my Eastern looking glass, melding both to create something that universally recognisable with a hint of other worldliness. The iconography I use takes the form of birds and fishes hidden amongst the patterns. Fishes have an important place in Bengali gastronomy and culture, often part of ceremonies marking birth, marriage and death. In Buddhism, the fish signifies the desire to be in harmony with one's environment. The bird, a universally recognized symbol of freedom, alludes to the yearning to break away from the humdrum tedium of the everyday. In my abstract figurative drawings, there is often an open eye. In my hometown of Kolkata, the master artisans who craft the great clay idols of the Goddess Durga have a painting of the eye ceremony that brings the idol to life. In making my work the finishing of the eye is left to the last, for opening of the eye is giving its form life. The bare feet that adorn my creatures are a symbol of dynamism and movement, reminiscent of the dancing images found in frescos and statues across Hindu iconography.
Artiq Do you have any projects you would like to share with us at this time?
Srabani I have recently taken part in the ‘Take a Seat’ residency hosted by Ha.lf and Bow Arts, an artist take-over of the ex-meta/Facebook office in Central London, culminating in a 40+ artists group exhibition of artist-made chairs. ‘Take A Seat’ gives the audience permission to do the two things you crave most in a gallery setting: to sit down and touch the artwork. I am also working towards a show on the island of Andros, in Greece, in the summer of 2025 which is a follow on from my summer residency of 2024. I am currently exploring new ways of pushing the idea of movement beyond the form and surface into the realm of the physical.
Srabani I have recently taken part in the ‘Take a Seat’ residency hosted by Ha.lf and Bow Arts, an artist take-over of the ex-meta/Facebook office in Central London, culminating in a 40+ artists group exhibition of artist-made chairs. ‘Take A Seat’ gives the audience permission to do the two things you crave most in a gallery setting: to sit down and touch the artwork. I am also working towards a show on the island of Andros, in Greece, in the summer of 2025 which is a follow on from my summer residency of 2024. I am currently exploring new ways of pushing the idea of movement beyond the form and surface into the realm of the physical.