Meet Vivek.

2012. Vivek (Firangi Rang Barangi series)
Acrylic, pencil and ink on paper.
Approx. 36 in. x 48 in.

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Meet Lucky.

2012. Lucky (Firangi Rang Barangi series)
Acrylic, pencil and ink on paper.
Approx. 34 in. x 58 in.

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Meet AKBAR.

2012. Akbar (Firangi Rang Barangi series)
Acrylic, pencil and ink on paper.
23 in. x 55 in.

Akbar is the latest and the "greatest" of the NEW Firangi Rang Barangi MEN series. Badass or Bindaas? Take your pick.

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Introducing Fifa

Fifa, 2011, 48" x 55", Acrylic, ink and pencil on paper.

Made in response to the discriminatory political decision by FIFA to ban women who wear hijab from playing tournament soccer. Read about this decision and it's implications on the "Right2Wear" blog and send FIFA a letter indicating your opposition to the ban.

Vogue INDIA Features Firangi Rang Barangi

Vogue INDIA online has featured my painting series titled "Firangi Rang Birangi". Check It!

New Firangi Rang Barangi: Mala

2010. Mala (Firangi Rang Barangi series).
Acrylic, ink and pencil on paper, 38 in x 59 in. /// SOLD

Mala is Hindi for "necklace".

New Firangi Rang Barangi: Sitara

2010. Sitara (Firangi Rang Barangi series).
Acrylic, ink and pencil on paper, 35 in x 59 in. /// AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE

Sitara is Hindi for "star".

New Firangi Rang Barangi: Tamana

2010. Tamana (Firangi Rang Barangi series).
Acrylic, ink and pencil on paper, 24 in x 54 in. /// SOLD

Tamana is Hindi/Urdu for "desire"

Exhibition in Dhaka

Life of a Vagabond: Contemporary Art from Canada
Tivoli Art Gallery, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Opening Reception: Monday, October 11, 2010 at 6:30pm
Exhibition Dates: October 10-20, 2010.
Check it!

Split

New Painting. Split. 18" x 24" Mixed media on paper. 2010

When we are split open. When we have lost control. When things fall apart. This is what lies at the heart: sheer communion.

New Firangi Rang Barangi: Shabana

New Firangi Rang Barangi: Ila

Departure

New Painting. As yet untitled. 18" x 24" Mixed media on paper. 2010

This is an aching, acrid representation of the imagined return as an im/migrant. It is the recognition that the journey is the only place of wholeness. It is a vision of a longing, like the ache of a lost traveller. It pays homage to the kingfisher who migrates back and forth, alone, year... after year and yet, as Dogen says, "leaves no trace behind and does not need a guide." If we long to live in two places at once and cannot, survival insists that we abandon the earth and claim the sky.

This new painting is both a departure from my previous work and a piece created on the theme of Departure". Enjoy!

Farangi Rang Barangi (rani)

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Farangi Rang Barangi (rani)
Acrylic and ink on paper
22" x 50"

Sumthin' to satisfy your hungry souls. Farangi Rang Barangi (rani) is finally here. Yup, ah-ha. It took a while and although this reproduction is not very good, the piece is bangin'. Enjoy.
peace

Farangi Rang Barangi

Click on image for a better view.

Status: unfinished
Acrylic and ink on paper
18" x 50"

I wanted to leave you all with something a little special before I go off to New York for a week. So although, it's not finished and the reproduction is awful, I'm still posting the first painting in a series entitled "Farangi Rang Barangi".

"Farangi" is Persian word for foreigners, but is also used in Hindi and Urdu to mean the same thing. "Rang Barangi" is a Hindi/Punjabi colloquialism that means "colourful".

This new work is about exploring the ways in which clothing and dress express otherness, difference and belonging. It is not so much about the wearer as it is about the worn. It is also a celebration of Eastern textile arts, Indian femininity, and feminist genealogies where the passing down of jewelery and clothing from grandmother to mother to daughter is an old and sacred tradition.

Stay tuned for a better repro and a finished painting soon when I return.
Peace

It's Poppin'. Or Is It?

Top: Lighthouse (Jaffa, Palestine), acrylic on canvas, 2008, 3' x 3'
Bottom: Choose Life, acrylic on canvas, 2008, 3' x 3'

I've started painting large and loud! The colours are jumping off the canvas and I just don't know how to stop! Really though, it's a love hate kinda thrill. So how about you decide, is it poppin' or is it not?