Dr Mandakini Devi (b.1984) completed her under graduation in Painting from the Delhi College of Art, Tilak Marg. From then on, she completed her Master’s in Fine- Art and a Diploma in Photography, that culminated in a practice-based Ph.D. in 2018.During her undergraduate years she keenly studied the Renaissance master’s – Sandro Botticelli, Massacio, Tintoretto; including artists such as Amadeo Modigliani, Gustav Klimt, Otto Dix to name a few.
Over a period of ten years Dr Devi lived between the England and India, refining her knowledge of Western Art History, simultaneously delving into mythologies based in Hinduism. Her work is a hybrid of many cultures, oral traditions and materialities emblematic of what she considers as being India.
About the Artwork:
Title: A Walk in the Park
Medium: Backlit framed digital collage
The following artwork is inspired the various myths and stories related to the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the garden of Eden. In accordance with such tradition, it is believed that Eve tempted Adam to taste the forbidden fruit. In my interpretation of the expulsion of Adam and Eve, I have shown Adam as the primary bearer of guilt- the gaze of the male is lowered as though ashamed of his body. Contrary to the male figure, the female figure is shown not only in a larger scale, her gaze is piercing looking at viewer, as though feeling liberated from shame or guilt.