Ratna Gupta’s creative practice may be seen as physical demonstration/ playing out of the complex and sometimes painful negotiations and resolutions of personal, psycho-emotional contradictions. However, her work does not restrict itself to self-referential indulgence. While the ‘self’ has a strong presence in her work, she rejects direct figurative representation for a more actively conceptual/ sculptural way of rendering the living figure inscribed by all its contradictions and fragilities. She is also interested in undermining the earth-body binary. From here the artist speculates on the ways in which this rift has been further fuelled by our culture of consumption.

The process of extrapolating an element that is still living is a way to freeze it in time. Ratna’s work reminds viewers that we are surrounded even more by infospheres with a sharp degradation of our biological / natural ecosystems. When asked to simply describe her work, she wrote down – memories, repetition, time, temporary, change, imprinting, preserving, to contain, succession.

After finishing her BA (2000) from St. Xavier’s College, Bombay, Ratna studied graphic design (2001) at the Weighan and Leigh College, Bombay. She further went on to do a three-year BA honours (2005) in book arts and crafts at the London College of Printing.