Contact – Varunika

[email protected]

Thank you, everyone, for all the heartwarming mess

Thank you, everyone, for all the heartwarming messages and calls. You made my day extra special. Much love to my wonderfully eccentric parents and my band of “crazies”– all the awesome, brilliant, witty and incredibly talented people I am lucky to call my friends. I turned 43 yesterday, for a change, with a lot of spunk and gumption, also a fair bit of the right kind of wickedness, for I have crossed off everyone on my “hit list.” Starting a whole new revolution around the sun, feeling the wonderful afterglow that comes with standing-up for oneself, even if some of it is post facto.

Thank you @qagoma @tarunpics! 11th Asia Pacific T

Thank you @qagoma @tarunpics!
11th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art, Queensland Art Gallery (QAG) and the Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA), Brisbane. On view till 27th April 2025

#triennialqagoma #QAGOMA #varunikasaraf #chemouldprescottroad #thisisqueensland #apt11 #APT #asiapacifictriennial

Can’t celebrate enough @neeta.saraf. Happy 69! A

Can’t celebrate enough @neeta.saraf. Happy 69! Another year to bicker and laugh, and most importantly being there for each other when it really counts.

This is one of those little but big wins in life.

This is one of those little but big wins in life. It feels a bit surreal. I am participating in the eleventh edition of the Asia Pacific Triennial at the Queensland Art Gallery| Gallery of Modern Art @qagoma , which includes a new commission, Thieves in the Forest. Years ago, if someone had told the college student me that this is in the realm of possibilities, I would not have believed them.

Thank you @rithikamerchant and @shironijoseph for holding me in your thoughts. Your pictures brought much cheer. Much love and power to both of you.
—
Sharing images of the large painting I created and some of the details.

Thieves in the forest
Watercolour on Wasli, 183 x 275 cm, 2024
This painting is symbolic of every forest where human greed plays out. It portrays an upside-down world where “development” is a euphemism for repression, violence, mass displacement of people and the loot of natural resources, all in the name of the “greater good”. However, at the heart of the piece lies our collective complacency. The many faces littered across the picture are sometimes hidden in the lush foliage of the forest, huddled together, while at others, assembled, waiting for their chance. It is not immediately apparent if they are the oppressed, the oppressors, or spectators bearing silent witness. Unable to do anything, they watch from the sidelines as “democracy” is unleashed upon indigenous lands. A democracy, which, in reality, perpetuates a neocolonial model of exploitation, leading to deep humanitarian and ecological crises. Here, as the capitalist machinery grinds into action with its cogs – the land surveyors, construction crews, financiers, bankers, officers, and politicians, accompanied by the might of the gun, extra-judicial and systemic violence is a certainty. They speak of a free and fair election and development for all, but for whom? In a world where “progress” entails the appropriation of lands, erasure of histories and indigenous knowledge and the destruction of entire ways of life, where do we stand? Are we not a part of the problem, deeply entrenched as we are and ostensibly benefiting from this exploitative system?
@tarunpics #triennialqagoma #qagoma

It’s a wrap! As @maleelu say “truly Ameen for

It’s a wrap! As @maleelu say “truly Ameen for all the sweetness we have in our lives”. A perfect trip from the start to the finish, thankful for everything that came my way, all the people, art and experiences. Everything I wanted and more. Highlights of course were the important long overdue conversations that took a lot of courage and strength and @yardenakurulkar ‘s amazing show. @mleccha and @sumati_pk missed both of you, soon dosto, wada raha. Stepping into a whole new phase with a lot of lightness and clarity. Bombay you were truly beautiful, much more than I could ever imagined or hoped for.

Celebrating @shireengandhy with a whole lot of art

Celebrating @shireengandhy with a whole lot of artists I admire.

Mausi time or rather niece time. Doesn’t matter,

Mausi time or rather niece time. Doesn’t matter, we laughed all evening.

Instagram post 17970443213796887

Instagram post 17970443213796887

Uma-Maheshwara, always special. #elephanta

Uma-Maheshwara, always special.

#elephanta

Back to being as stubborn as I used to be when I w

Back to being as stubborn as I used to be when I was a child after a hiatus for three decades. For a change doing exactly as I please. Damn well going to read PC on the island. For now trying not to snooze off.
#hellbent

With @chemouldprescottroad at @artmumbaiofficial s

With @chemouldprescottroad at @artmumbaiofficial soon.

Working away slowly and steadily in the morning li

Working away slowly and steadily in the morning light.

#studio #varunikasaraf #embroidery #artistslife #everyday #wip #textile #embroideryart

Rayalaseema and beyond

Rayalaseema and beyond

Instagram post 18424854343072756

Instagram post 18424854343072756

Instagram post 17981099363617280

Instagram post 17981099363617280

Lepakshi. I am damn pleased with myself to say th

Lepakshi.
I am damn pleased with myself to say the very least. Spent a rainy day taking these pictures. Happy, drenched and exhausted, but mostly gleeful, like someone got me ice cream.

If you are going to embezzle funds from the imperi

If you are going to embezzle funds from the imperial treasury might as well do it with a lot of spunk like these two 16th century patrons, Virupanna and Veeranna.

#murals #16thcentury #painting #arthistory

Instagram post 18124024483378088

Instagram post 18124024483378088

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Instagram post 18043542593503595