Saline Drip (Magic Memory)

Justin Ponmany finds subject matter in the detritus, gutters and alleyways of life in Mumbai. Concerned with the brute Darwinian quality of life in a megalopolis, Ponmany composes his paintings based on photographs of people and places that he either extracts from the media or crafts himself. His tools are often industrial; the artist infects his surfaces with plastic, resin, printer's ink, salt and holograms to create his stylistic effects. Ponmany states, "My work is spurred on by the sudden moment of truth, when everything else around collapses, only the threadbare nakedness of the weaving remains" (Poddar, p. 81). Thus his slick holographic media which reflects light, dancing as one moves across the image, has been worn away in parts revealing holes and decay in the shiny new façade. (Private/Corporate IV: Works from the Lekha and Anupam Poddar, New Delhi, and DaimlerChrysler Collections: A Dialogue, Berlin, January - June 2007).