A Garden Through The Looking Glass

Surrealist Fantasy Botanicals

By Priyanka Shah

Tell us about your botanical sculptures:

I am an Art Director and Artist working independently out of Mumbai. I graduated from Rachana Sansad College of Applied Art (Mumbai) and got my PG Diploma in Visual Communication from London College of Communication. Soon I progressed to working with leading design firms like Grandmother India, Alok Nanda & Company, Motherland JV and a few others.

Off and on, I like to indulge in passion projects and work with people from other creative disciplines like printmaking, fashion or immersive experiences. Currently, I am working on multiple design and branding projects, and my personal project—Fantasy Botanicals.

What started off as a 100 Day Project, has now evolved into a series of botanical sculptures. It takes familiar and unfamiliar organic elements out of context and unearths a new meaning; slowly building a world of fantasy. I combine my approach in design with the physicality of organic elements—texture and form. I like questioning the existing and uncovering my own natural aesthetic sensibilities. Finding semblance in nature morte, I explore dimensions, emotions and feelings through my compositions making each exploration unique. I like infusing the idea of surrealism in these inanimate subjects to heighten one’s experience while exploring the multiplicity of life.

In a sea of sameness, I have managed to create an opportunity for a new medium of storytelling using natural elements. The methodology of Fantasy Botanicals is applied to various fashion, jewellery or lifestyle brands like Le Mill, Obataimu, Sapna Mehta Jewelry, Danda Food Project, Indus People, etc.

To what extent do gardens inspire your creative work? “I live in Mumbai, a city so crowded that there aren’t enough green spaces. However, my mum has grown her own little garden on our terrace where she has a bunch of fruits, vegetables and flowers. I have grown up seeing the little advancements every day and I slowly learnt to appreciate them—a new sprout, a bud, a caterpillar chewing on the leaves, etc. The various forms in nature fascinated me. The curiosity deepened; I started going through books on botanical illustrations. As an artist, I would enjoy drawing the details and textures, the filaments, buds and fruiting capsules.”

“I have been collecting leaves, flowers and twigs from all around—evening run at the park, on my way to work, mum’s garden, a nursery, my travels, etc. I stamp them with the date and keep them pressed between books. It is my way of documenting my memories and journey. I was always a hoarder but this is my most fascinating collection, which has now turned into a sculpture series. ”

“Through my series, I’d like to engage people with the natural world in a visual manner. There is tremendous beauty in nature and only if everyone looked around more carefully they’d see it differently every time, and learn to appreciate and preserve it.”

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