Portraiture in graphite and charcoal.
Dry mediums of carbon allotropes that allow a rich spectrum of values.
Background video: Virah- 3
Beth and Jimmy
2020
Charcoal on A3 300gsm Bristol Paper.
November 20, 2021
Graphite on paper.
Virah series is about toxicity, narcissistic abuse, possession, obsession, insecurities, trust issues, abandonment trauma, PTSD, depression, anxiety and just any form of hurt one can go through. It is a celebration of all that life brings and the feelings associated with those traumas. Depression, heartache is all so very real and does not make you any less normal or any less worthy of love. Abuse could be mental and physical and neither is less serious than the other. We might start to think ‘toxic’ is ‘the normal’ and you might slip out of your own sight but no one is worth resetting your values for, or losing your individuality for. You don’t have to fit into their prefect just to keep them; rest assured it isn’t love. You are all you have and all that’s going to be at the end of the day. Do not take what you could never do to others and don’t do to other what you can’t take yourself.
Some of us stay in toxicity for long enough that we won’t even realize and it starts to feel normal. Guard your heart and don’t let it turn all rotten in a place it is not meant to be. Just because you see it around doesn’t mean it is right or normal. Be patient and trust the universe. Toxic is not normal, toxic is not a type of love language, love will never make you uncomfortable.
Your emotions are valid. You’re not overly sensitive for feeling how you do and do not let anyone say you over-react or over-think. Other people’s high threshold for abuse and other people’s submissiveness should not dictate how and how much you should feel.
This art piece is one of the pieces that are closest to my heart and was born out of a prolonged period of heartache and mistreatment. I wanted to draw what walking on egg shells feels like. I takes courage to get out and now I am the happiest person I know!
Sonam Bajwa
2022
Charcoal on A4 300gsm Bristol Paper.
Gurnam Bhullar
2022
Charcoal on A4 300gsm Bristol Paper.
Guddu Mamiji
2020
Charcoal on A4 300gsm Bristol Paper.
Kevin’s Mom, Grandma and Aunt
2020
Charcoal on A3 300gsm Bristol Paper.
Nanny and Uncle Cha-Baby
2020
Charcoal on A3 300gsm Bristol Paper.
Diwaan Khana Khooh
2020
Charcoal on A3 300gsm Bristol Paper.
The Last Dance
2020
Charcoal on A4 300gsm Bristol Paper.
In sweet memory of Amandeep’s mother. May she be smiling just as hard wherever she is.
Navya’s Father
2020
Charcoal on A3 300gsm Bristol Paper.
Amreen
2022
Charcoal on A4 300gsm Bristol Paper.
Untitled
2022
Charcoal on A4 300gsm Bristol Paper.
Untitled
2022
Charcoal on A4 300gsm Bristol Paper.
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