Nirmala Biluka

Nirmala Biluka’s oils on canvas are strongly autobiographical, and she constantly uses the self image as a reference as well as a protagonist in her work. Most of the works exhibited in ‘Signals’, her first solo show in 2007, represented Biluka’s a strong reactions to societal issues, identifying her as an artist who draws on events of the recent past as source material. Set in the realm of the modern metropolis, her canvases overflow with ubiquitous everyday objects, rendered in her unique idiom, with the composition forming an integral part of the creative process. Not confirming to the norms of narrative painting, Biluka weaves a story out of the array of disparate objects that populate her frames. She uses a wide range of images to convey her message, as well as to relate particular incidents that might have caught her attention. Using images of a train, the Gateway of India and a clock and the colour red, for instance, the artist represents her angst about the bomb blasts that shook the city in 2006. Another image of a tiger atop a bed aims to throw light on the rapid extinction of the species, and the human encroachment that is destroying their natural habitat. Born in 1980, Nirmala Biluka is currently pursuing her Doctorate from the Faculty of Fine Arts at Maharaja Sayajirao University, Baroda. Biluka had her first solo show, titled ‘Signals’, at Studio Napean, Mumbai, in 2007. The artist’s works have been featured in several group shows, including ‘Tryst with Telengana’ and ‘Reposte’ at Sarjan Art Gallery, Baroda, in 2007 and 2006 respectively; ‘Under Currents’ at Shridharani Gallery, New Delhi, in 2007; ‘Modus Operandi’ at Lanxess ABS Gallery, Baroda, in 2006; and ‘Translocal’ in Baroda in 2006. Biluka was awarded the Junior Research Fellowship from the University Grants Commission in 2006. In 2004, she was awarded the Telegu University Scholarship, and was also awarded the University Gold Medal at her graduation in 2003. The artist lives and works in Baroda.