Rubia Tinctorum (3) Painting

Tarini Ahuja (b.1990, India) was born and raised in New Delhi, India. She pursued her undergraduate studies at Lasalle College of the Arts in Singapore and graduated with a B.A. (Honors) in Fine Arts from Goldsmith’s, University of London in 2013. On graduating she moved back to her hometown – New Delhi. The drastic change in landscape has led her work to move from pristine whites, clerical greys, sensitive blues and garden greens to dusty, earthy shades, chaotic hues and dramatic contrasts. Along with being aesthetically pleasing, Tarini Ahuja’s work provides the viewer with a sense of positivity and peace. She aims to create, through her paintings a space for solace and reflection, an escape from the mundane. Her handling of paint is intended to cause an effect of puzzlement to the viewer, the colour usage, and the contrast between thick and thin along with the use of shadows is a deliberate visual trickery. She uses acrylic paints as she feels it is a versatile medium and allows her to experiment with the materiality of the paint. She plays with the notions of illusion in painting and projects a whimsical feel through her works. The Japanese idea of ‘Ma’ plays an important role in her aesthetic. Ma can be roughly translated as gap, pause or the space in between. The concept of Ma is a powerful concept with many faces and layers it routes from the philosophies of Taoism and Buddhism.