The Lotus Eye

Pranjal’s work begins with a quiet rebellion against the static. In 'The Lotus Eye', the artist takes the serene geometry of the Mithila tradition and fractures it through a modern, cubist lens. The face is not merely observed; it is constructed. The hair is a dense, rhythmic tapestry of indigo and violet circles, a nod to the intricate dot-work of traditional folk art, but scaled up to feel almost cosmic. The focal point is the eye, which is not an eye at all, but a closed lotus bud—pink and gold, resting on the face like a secret. Against the deep, grounding black of the background, the blue profile of the face and the vibrant, unfurling lotus on the right create a tension between stillness and growth. It is a piece that speaks to the Indian tradition of the 'third eye'—seeing not with the physical, but with the spiritual.

An original watercolour and ink work on paper. 'The Lotus Eye' features a stylised profile in deep indigo and azure, set against a matte black ground. The hair is rendered in a dense pattern of overlapping circles in blue and violet, evoking the texture of Mithila folk art. The eye is replaced by a delicate, closed lotus bud in shades of magenta and gold. To the right, a larger lotus blooms in vibrant pink, its stem and leaves traced in fine gold and green lines. The composition is portrait-oriented, balancing the weight of the face on the left with the organic movement of the floral elements on the right.