Anthropomorphic
Prisoner of Our Own Devices
₹85,000
Price in Indian rupees. Available at the exhibition and by enquiry.
This work examines the paradox of freedom in an age of invisible confinement. At its centre, a crow dressed in human garments embodies both captivity and rebellion, its song an act of defiance.
The graffiti is integral to the painting — a raw, visual language of resistance that challenges the systems shaping our thoughts, desires and identities. Its presence disrupts the imagery, asserting dissent in a world increasingly governed by screens, social metrics and the pursuit of approval.
Books of resistance and awakening sit alongside symbols of digital dependency: the phone screen, the currency of likes and the empty cage of virtual followers. Beyond them, a window opens onto a world of possibility, inviting us to question the boundaries we have come to accept.
The crow sees a peacock in its phone screen, reflecting the gap between who we are and who we want the world to see. The bewildered bird looks on as the crow chooses confinement over freedom, while the mouse embodies the quiet pull of conformity, following the crowd rather than questioning its direction.
The painting asks whether we are truly free, or merely performing freedom within cages of our own making.
How much of ourselves do we sacrifice to be seen?