Madhu S

I’m a London-based painter working between abstraction and figuration. My work usually begins with a feeling that won’t settle, something that sits under the surface until it finds its way onto the canvas.
I grew up around Indian mythology and now live in the UK, and that tension between those worlds runs through everything I make. It comes through most clearly in saturated colours and bold shapes.
I’ve always believed that heaven is under our feet, which is what led me to work in sustainability, which also shapes both what I paint and how I paint. I use reclaimed canvases and build pigments from expired makeup, dried spices, and other organic materials, alongside non-toxic paints. The materials carry their own history of use, breakdown, and transformation.
Drawn to mythology and astrology, especially the parts that don’t fully explain themselves. I work in rhythm with lunar cycles or eclipses, letting that timing influence the process rather than dictate it.
I see my work as contemporary amulets, objects that carry emotional and symbolic charge, invoking protection, recognition, and a quiet alignment between the personal, the planetary, and the mythic.