Through a Window: Sahana Ramakrishnan

NEW YORK, March 14, 2016 (Newswire.com) - ​​In her first solo exhibition, Sahana Ramakrishnan offers an escape into a world in which human and animal bodies cease to exist as separates. The artist finds inspiration in the Hindu and Buddhist philosophies that stress our interconnectedness to other beings on this planet. In a language that is definably culturally ambiguous, she stitches together elements from contemporary and ancient fables from around the world, using man’s relationship with animals as a platform to examine human morality.

Through a Window features paintings and drawings rich with grotesque and surreal imagery that marry the freakish, the funny, and the beautiful. The artist uses found objects, decorative materials and calligraphic drawing to arrive at figural abstractions. Sahana creates a visual experience that portrays the drama and power struggles that arise when the boundaries between human and animal bodies are deconstructed.

Titled after anthropologist and ethologist Jane Goodall’s dramatic saga of chimpanzee life in the Gombe, Through a Window explores issues of human morality through the lense of the relationships we have with animals. The artist uses escapism to invite the viewer to reflect on the depth and nature of how we use animals in our contemporary mythology as extensions of ourselves.

Sahana Ramakrishnan was born in 1993 in Mumbai, India. She spent her childhood and early life in Singapore and travelled frequently within South East Asia, Europe, and Australia. She moved to the United States in 2011, and received her BFA in Painting from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2015. Sahana currently lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. Her work has been exhibited in New York galleries such as at A.I.R. Gallery, The Doping Agency, and Front Art Space.

This exhibition is curated and organized by The Espejo Organization for the Arts. EOarts is an arts management organization based in Bushwick, Brooklyn, that supports and promotes the work of mid-career and emerging international artists and creatives. Since 2013, EOarts has developed workshops, exhibitions, publications, art residencies, and and many other programs with the mission to create an international and multicultural community that will open new possibilities and perspectives for culture worldwide.

The exhibition is presented by Rabbithole Projects. Rabbithole Projects is a contemporary art space located on the waterfront of the Dumbo arts district in Brooklyn. Since 2006, the gallery has exhibited works by emerging and mid-career artists, presenting over 60 group and solo shows as a participant gallery in Dumbo's First Thursday series of art walks. The space operates as a project room, providing artists a forum for showing new works and works-in-progress. Rabbithole Projects also hosts a series of special events, from movie screenings, readings, yoga classes, and the Brooklyn Creative program of artist workshops.