Making Marks

Srabani Ghosh

29 January - 9 February 2019

Srabani’s debut show Marking Marks is an ensemble of 2D prints and 3D ceramic sculptures. The common thread running through both bodies of work is the different media used to explore how mark making can express and capture personal identity, telling stories of lives and moments lived.

Srabani is a sculptural ceramicist and an artist. Her heritage defines her and also influences her work. Srabani grew up in India but was born in the UK and lives here now. Her mother was an artist, her father an engineer.

Studying Ceramic Design at Central St Martin’s she learnt to master the medium of clay to give artistic expression to themes that span time and cultures. By taking universal themes and exploring them in unexpected ways the intent is to delight and excite the viewer by making him or her rethink the everyday.

Jaama, meaning garment in her native language Bengali, is a series of sculptural vessels that explore the relationship between personal identity and how that plays out in the garments we wear. This body of work is rooted in her quintessentially Indian delight in observing people in their everyday activities. The question that she often ponders is what do they see in the mirror each morning? Is it an image of themselves or it is the body image stereotyped by the media? What makes the garment; the person who wears it or the patterns and textures that adorn it? A garment is made unique through its wearing, much like our lives. Fired in kilns at century old HG Matthew’s brickworks, the creation of each piece is a journey, which its uniqueness tells the story of. The brick plinths make this connection.

Mai Hu, meaning ‘I am’ in Hindi, is a digital reproduction of a series of 8 drawings. Multiplicity of roles is an enduring part of what defines every woman. Each day brings a new challenge and with it, new incarnations of her self-step forth. Using ink and paper Srabani has tried to capture the moods and modes that jostle to take their place in her person. These musings were made whilst riddling her way across London ever dancing between the spirits of mother, maker, thinker and explorer of creative possibilities.

Creatures of the Womb is a series of images created using original Victorian obstetrical instrumental drawings and prints. These were altered through hand drawn marks reminiscent of Srabani’s habit of doodling on notebooks in school. The scanned images were brought to life through collage and repetition on a digital medium to give birth to abstract creatures and patterns.