My artistic practice evolves from nostalgia of my childhood that I spent around buffaloes as I belong to a community whose vocation has been cattle rearing. As an artist, the images of these beautiful beasts, the milk cans and the paraphernalia have been etched forever in my mind as I began sketching and studying them. However, as I grew up, urbanization and climate change has affected these animals more than humans. Hence the central theme of my work is how we are destroying nature and its resources in the name of human development, while animals and other living beings are the most affected in this race towards destruction.

I usually work in series, and this is an ongoing project. The present series is titled, ‘Where Are We Going With the World?’ I also did a solo show on this theme in my hometown, Hyderabad. The semi-abstract compositions are developed from underlying charcoal drawings, over which layers of paint are built over the surface to narrate stories of the pain and agony of the creatures as their natural surroundings are destroyed in the name of urbanization and development. The bulls and buffaloes represent the struggling animal world in the wake of climate change and urbanization. I have used bull horns as symbolic of death and decay. In one of my installations, I have used an old bullock cart onto which are loaded numerous bull horns, to suggest that the animal which used to carry the cart is now missing and instead the cart is carrying the leftover horns of the bulls to invoke a sense of loss.

I believe art has the power to bring attention to the present crisis we all are facing. As an artist, I do not believe in simply making aesthetically appealing art but something that has to shake you up as a human being. Through my art works, I hope to make the viewer, think for a moment and become a more responsible citizen of this planet.