Chitra Merchant

 

Chitra has been engaged with exploring the forest ecologies of  the Western Ghats in South Indian  for a few years now. Having grown up in this region, she travels back regularly and has a long standing connection to it passed down from her grandfather who was a forest officer in these parts.

 

She is particularly inspired by the 'Devakads' (Sacred Groves) found in these regions and the stories and mythologies that surround them. The resulting drawings, paintings and prints seek to explore and highlight the biodiversity as well the inherent wild mystery underlying the existence of these spaces. Chitra also hopes to shed light on the many environmental issues and threats facing this fast diminishing landscape.