Entering the Mashrabiya, a solo by artist Praneet Soi, which is on display at the Experimenter- Hindusthan Road, took us on a reflective mood with its serene visualization of nature, intricate designs, and pastel shades with vibrant detours. The canvas, tiles, wood-sculpture patterns, and papier-mache tiles told stories from Srinagar, Amsterdam, and China, woven together through art. The artist’s in-depth transfer of local craftsmanship and views from each place, and merging it with other art forms, gave it a multi-dimensional look.
Why Mashrabiya gives you a different perspective about bird imagery?
In his words, “Mashrabiya are the verandahs that we see largely in Islamic and old Indian architecture. It’s the jutting verandah where the window is covered with delicate pattern work. It was a place where the women would look outside into the world. But for me, it’s a metaphor that every view we see is filtered.”
From Kashmiri Khatambandh and jaal works to China’s Guangzhou tiles and views from Amsterdam’s window, all find a place here. “I have been living in Amsterdam since 2001. As you live and work in a place, images from that place filter in. I went to Kashmir to understand what life in the northernmost borders of my own country looks like. Over time, Srinagar became familiar since I have been going back multiple times to work with the craftsmen. I was invited to China for a biennale and asked what the prevalent craft Guangzhou was, and they arranged for me to spend a month in the craftsman's studio. To me, the big question is what your landscape is and that is not only the view but also the medium. Sometimes a place can be your muse, and its familiarity allows you to think of other things within your practice.”
Over a decade of Soi’s practice is on display. The earliest ones are the Gungzhou tiles on porcelain with Kashmiri pattern outlines filled with Ching dynasty motifs, and the newest are the sculptural exploration of birds made with the understanding of the amazement of colour theory and Tantric Buddhist paintings.
Talking about the process of making his intricate pattern work, he says, “I was working in Srinagar with Jaali and turned it into a drawing. While separating the shapes, it looked like a bird. I have started to explore local motifs with my images. These tiles are papier-mache - clay, tissue paper, and varnish. To create these tiles, it took us a year. You have to make a drawing in their size, punch the lines with holes, and dust it so that the dots come on the surface. It’s an old way of tracing.”
Before signing off, he opined on the recurring occurrence of birds in his works, “Birds travel like patterns. Birds were forming organically within my work. Culture is an accumulation coming from different sources and migrations of thoughts, with the freedom to explore.”
Mashrabiya is on till September 26, 2025, at Experimenter – Hindusthan Road
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