Subarna Talukder Bose

Subarna Talukder Bose was born in India and now works from her studio in Portland, Oregon, USA.

In her paintings, Subarna contemplates the idea of skin that seems to take the centre stage in defining race and origin. She says, “Coming from a culture with a post-colonial hangover, the debate over fair and dark is a vital social dialogue that I have experienced all my life.”

By challenging the concept of ideal skin, she explores the power play involved in representation of identity and ethnicity. Drawing from Hindu mythology, the figures in her work inhabit the contemporary dialogue involving human identity. In this process, she also picks up tokens of religious diversity through her patterns and stitched fabric. The patterns and fabric tell stories of the centuries old Hindu and Muslim cultures that have blended thoroughly into a harmonious whole in India.

Her process involves combining images randomly for unexpected chances and territories, pushing figurative representation, and looking for unconventional beauty. For the patterns, she draws inspiration from Mughal and Hindu architecture and Indian miniature paintings, which she grew up seeing and admiring.

subarnatalbose.wixsite.com/subarna

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