Rachna Toshniwal on how her stint as an environmentalist has found expression in art
Last year, during a trip to Corbett National Park, environmentalist and artist Rachna Toshniwal ended up collecting stones, twigs, flowers and leaves, to keep as mementos. “On my return, I spontaneously used these materials to make prints. The flow of lines, impressions of leaves and bark that emerged on paper, reflected the forest and the experience of chance it offers — like spotting that tiger, watching great hornbills feed and the alarm call of the barking deer,” she says. The artworks have culminated in a new show titled Zen and the Art of Entanglement.
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For Toshniwal, her stint as an environmentalist – she has worked with indigenous communities in the Himalayas and in Costa Rica – has influenced her art on many levels. “I realised that the most fundamental work that needs to be done for the environment is for humans to re-connect with nature.
This is what drives my art ,” she says. Seemingly mundane objects like wrapping paper, cardboard containers and receipts also inspire her. “I started painting on canvas using only rollers and palette knives. Print works using materials was just a way forward for me,” she says.
Where: Kamalnayan Bajaj Hall and Art Gallery, Ground Floor, Bajaj Bhavan, Nariman Point
When: December 5, 4 pm to 9 pm
Call: 22023626
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