Chiaroscuro

Monochromatic paintings are not new, and I am not trying to add to this genre. I have spent the better part of my life in the midst of the Chota Nagpur plateau. So, it's only natural that it inspired me. The plateau blends into my small town like a spent wave. Hills, rivers, and expansive stretches of green land surround it. For years, I have rendered nature creatively with a multitude of colors. However, it changed with this pandemic. The pandemic took a lot from each one of us. One had to witness the phenomenon of human life being reduced to mere statistics. Apart from the loss of near and dear ones and the constant threat of mortality, there was this life of confinement. I was running out of colors - literally and metaphorically. It was nature that came to my rescue, but this time it seemed more mysterious. I was trying to capture the same thing but with a different flavor. Nature blesses us with her abundance. However, the way we perceive her is dependent on our state of mind. My paintings hold a mirror to my mind. Sanjoy Banerjee