At the intersection of tradition, identity, and oh look- a bird!

BIO:

I'm a queer South Asian artist building The Blue Desi as a space for work that doesn’t fit into easy categories. My practice explores identity, memory, and culture - often through themes that resist neat narratives or fixed definitions.

This platform is a way for me to connect with others who see the world from the margins, who make art that feels honest, layered, and a little unruly. I’m interested in how queerness and Desi identity intersect—not just as labels, but as lived experiences that shape how we create and how we are seen.

The Blue Desi is both archive and experiment. Thanks for being here.

I began painting birds during a time when I was feeling untethered. Spotting them on my walks - sometimes alone, sometimes in pairs; felt grounding. These birds were small reminders that the world was still moving, still beautiful, even when I was struggling to see it. Painting them became both a record and a release.

I place them against vivid skies and warm backdrops to honor those moments of noticing - of presence, even in pain. This series is deeply personal, rooted in place and healing. It’s my way of saying: I saw this. I was here. And even in the hard seasons, there was beauty.

My abstract work blends surrealist sensibilities with a deep connection to Indian identity, memory, and the quiet, poetic tensions of modern life. Each piece becomes a kind of liminal space—women held in glass domes, lovers pieced together from fragments, musicians shaped from triangles and deep blues. These figures aren’t bound to realism, but they carry emotional truths that feel familiar.

I often return to certain motifs: faceless forms, bright textiles, layered interiors. They speak to themes I keep circling—belonging, migration, queer intimacy, and the fluidity of self. I lean into saturated colors, flattened planes, and strange dream-architectures to evoke both personal and collective memory.

Medium: Soft body / Heavy body acrylic on canvas