RAMAN BHARDWAJ
March 26-27 // Home // Greensboro, NC
Raman is an Indian descent freelance artist based in Greensboro, NC, creating paintings, murals, illustrations and designs. He delves into Ancient practices like astrology and yoga and tries to balance spirituality and materialism. He won a national award for illustrations in India and Artpop street gallery award in USA.
www.artistraman.com
My residency began and I planned to start with a morning sketch. But I had to first make a video call to India and see my kids. I talked to my 4 year old daughter Myra on a video call and she was talking about the Corona- Monster and how everyone should clean hands and then she showed me by cleaning her hands with a hand sanitizer. This image stuck in my mind after the call and I started painting it on my iPad. It’s more of an illustration and I used the Hindi words “haath saaf rakho” meaning keep hands clean. It was a way to reflect on the COVID-19 mood and also to feel close to my daughter.
The next drawing I did on the paper after having breakfast was “Wounded Earth”. I wanted to draw a struggling sad woman to depict mother Earth. There are cries of people with hands up in air and the large woman looks defeated and exhausted.
I set my 18”x24”canvas on easel in my studio around 2 pm and sat in front of it staring. I pulled up an old sketch titled “unseen fear” which I drew a couple of months ago. Are those personal fears or a prophetic sketch of the universal fear that we are facing now? I thought. And then just took inspiration from the guy holding up moon symbolizing imagination of future and hope.
From there I started my painting and then added the blue scared woman in the back of that man. The woman is scared and is avoiding social contact. She represents the mass hysteria. I worked on this canvas on and off for two days. Often coming back to it and adding some works from “Sanskrit”. These words appear on my mind randomly. Some of them are part of Hindu prayers. I wrote words that translate into “elements of Earth and water”, “You are the literature”, “the left”, “image” “thousand”, “language” “God” “Angel” “bow” in no particular order.
This acrylic painting reflects my state of mind amidst the homestay and coronavirus scare. I am looking up to the higher power to help the humanity. I am thinking of everyone, all countries, all races, myself. All appear like dots on the map that keeps updating scary news on the TV screen.
I realize this homestay is hopefully teaching everyone to slow down. We have abused mother Earth, imbalanced the ecological system, the race of materialism has to stop. We have to respect nature and people.
The second day I drew the sketch “The balancing act” as I feel myself trying balance my emotions and may be the whole Earth is trying to balance life and death, abuse and blessings. In this drawing I show a melting woman trying to balance herself on the wheel of time. I improvised a sketch on a discarded mail-envelope. The printed words “official notice” caught my attention and I attached it to the State’s social distancing “stay home” orders.
I drew another drawing “chaos” which literally shows chaotic arrangement of faces, limbs. The abstract composition was not in my usual style but it reflected the haywire thoughts in my mind as I tried to capture all of it on the paper. It has Sanskrit words which translate into “truth” “ego” “me” “the speaker” “the auspicious” “cosmic order” again in no particular order.
