Pooja Iranna: Contemplating The Urban
© Pooja Iranna
Artist Statement
Making art is an obsession for any artist no matter to which era one belongs to , how much her art is noticed and how tight she holds to the roller coaster ride of success . The urge to express is never ending. All this becomes even more exciting for artists of my time as there are no more boundaries of defined expectations.
Through my work, I present man made structures, which talk of human beings, their presence, expressions, mind and emotions without their physical existence.
I was born in Delhi which fast grew into a metropolis along with me. Much before I could realize the metropolitan life around me became my cultural background. This is what eventually became the prime medium of expression for me as it predominated my whole self.
I work in many mediums but since a decade I have generously taken to photography, which helps in capturing the modern and contemporary architectural spaces. I seldom take images at random. I usually visualize how a particular frame would be used and then "click". The photographs that I take are maneuvered on the computer These are sometimes also worked upon with different materials once the print is out.
Using computer as a tool immensely helps me to work on a language that I wish to present. There is a need here to put forward a story or an idea that totally belongs to the artist. Though the medium is a common one but the expressed feeling is given my own language. The images are at times repeated, two similar picture frames are brought together, colors changed and all this is done to give a defined expression to the work. The picture is never a reality check but is manipulated to give to the viewer what I want to put forward.
Videos that I do are also an extension of my photographical practice. These are often animated and represent our inhabited spaces .
My choice of medium is guided by my thinking, reasoning and understanding of what I wish to express. Working with different materials but using the same underlined expression gives me a sense
of gratification. I have also been involved in making of videos which revolve around urbanization.
To view videos use exhibition menu to the left.
© © Pooja Iranna, 2019
Pooja’s selected recent exhibitions:
2018 -‘The Urban Re-imagined’, curated by Ravi Agarwal, Serendipity arts
festival ,Goa ,India, Negotiation in constructed space’, the Guild ,Mumbai and Art Heritage, New Delhi.
2017- 7TH Bharat Bhawan Biennial of contemporary art Bhopal, India.2015-2016- ‘The eye and the mind: new interventions in contemporary art’, Gaungdong museum of art, Gaungzhou and NGMA, New Delhi. ‘Working space around memory and perception’, KNMA, New Delhi. Ratina-Rome video art festival, at Macro, Contemporary art museum, Rome.
2014-‘The C(H)hroma show, SKE projects, Bangalore, Nothing, no thing’, Art Stage Singapore,
2013-‘Imaging the past, envisioning the future’, Transport museum ,Maneser, India. ‘Creative rising’, artwork projected on LINC LIC building ,NY, ‘Up and above the world, contemporary south Asian photography’, AICON Gallery ,NY, 15th Asian art Biennial, Indian Pavilion, Bangladesh.
2012- ‘Video Wednesday II’, Gallery Espace, New Delhi, ‘Spell and Spill of Ecology’ Palette art Gallery ,New Delhi .‘Cynical love, life in the everyday’ KNMA, Noida, India‘.
2011--‘New Indian film and animation, Institute of contemporary arts Lassalle, Singapore , ‘Fragile’, 1x1 Gallery, Dubai. ‘In you is the Illusion of each day’ Latitude 28, New Delhi’, ‘Palimpsest, exploring compound identities in contemporary South Asian Art’ , AICON Gallery, NY .'Miniscule Marvel', Mumbai . 'Time Unfolded', KNMA, New Delhi .
2010-‘Celeste prize finalists show, N.Y