Hear about local artist Shilpi Deb’s ‘Roots to Routes’ story

This South Asian Heritage Month, local artist Shilpi Deb reflects on her heritage and the inspirations behind her work.

I’m Shilpi Deb, a Kenyan visual artist of South Indian heritage who recently moved to London and have since been setting up my practice here in Richmond. Various things have helped me situate myself in the community, one of the biggest ones being the Artists Make Space residency that I did in Orleans House Gallery, where they offer a free studio space to work in and mentorship sessions. It has been invaluable in giving me time to develop new work/directions, find a community of artists/art lovers and get the ball rolling. 

My art is centred on the idea that from birth we collect/accumulate and layer on the things that make up our 'self', some innate and some picked consciously or unconsciously by way of conditioning. Our identity is like a fragile membrane surrounding us, that is continuously being altered by our backgrounds/circumstances and choices. This membrane is continuously morphing. Its state affects how we perceive and react to the world. My process is layering, making parts heavy or blurry, having backgrounds eat into the figures and vice versa, porous stippling, having each layer subtly affect the next. It is almost impossible to isolate any single layer, they all fuse into one fuzzy form. Leaving me with pieces that have almost gone through the same processes of collection/leaks as I have.

What are some traditions or values from your roots that continue to shape your life today?

Indian culture is ridiculously rich, there is an abundance of variety - you just need to look at the thousands (yes , thousands!) of different languages and dialects, types of food, art forms, dance forms, musical schools, rituals, sub-cultures, religions etc. that exist. This abundance of creative traditions and enjoyment of variety, its ability to absorb influences and adapt to different styles is something that continues to shape my life and that of the people around me. I come from a family of creatives: one of my grandfathers was an architect, and the other was a jeweller. My grandmother did literature, my father and two of my brothers are in the applied arts and filmmaking, my mother is a mathematician and writer, and my aunt paints and crafts. So naturally, I was drawn to 'MAKING'. As I grew up, my capacity to understand the things I was instinctively drawn to deepened, as did my understanding of what was being said around me at our family dinner tables and in our living rooms. This exposure to and absorption of different disciplines, philosophies and art forms (Indian and Kenyan!) has definitely influenced my idea of what constitutes a life well lived. POROSITY.  

What inspires you from the South Asian community?

Some of the most inspiring people for me are the artisans. Their dedication to their craft, their mastery of their respective disciplines and almost spiritual/animistic approach is incredible. You only need to look at some of the biggest projects e.g., the Ajanta and Ellora cave complex started in the 2nd century BCE; mammoth work, just pure creation started and carried on by generations of artisan families, or even the tiniest intricacies; like that of Indian miniature art, Indian jewellery, textile, ceramics etc. Everything is made with so much care and devotion. This meditative approach really moves me and it’s something that I strive for daily in my own artistic practice.

Artists Make Space

The Council’s Artists Make Space programme aims to support artists who do not currently have studio space for financial reasons. It provides support to artists who do not have the appropriate type of space for a specific project or experimentation in expanding their practice. 

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