PRIYA SAIBEL

I am a mixed-media painter working mostly with oils and acrylics. Recently I have been using watercolours and oil pastels.  I paint the world around me: the good, the pretty, the bad, the ugly. I play with objects and absurdity in my work, bringing together a collage of things that combine as symbols, representing the world today that we are experiencing. Using bold colour and fantasy-like composition, I often tell stories of injustices, war, and political violence. I believe in the idea of art-as-documentation that acts as a living tapestry of our moment in history, communicating important messages in ways only art can. I contrast bright cheerful images with bleaker ones to highlight the yin and yang of society, where lavish wealth is juxtaposed by large-scale suffering, missiles exist with jewels. At the same time, I paint pretty things inspired by nature, emotion, and light that come together in whimsical expression.

I am an emerging artist, mostly self-taught. My experiences, travel, working with different cultures and living in different countries, and the many years of research in anthropology, political science, and conflict studies influence the subjects I paint.

Instagram: @wepaintforlife