Pinaki Ranjan Mohanty

Pinaki Ranjan Mohanty (b. 1986) is a Bhubaneshwar, Odisha-based multidisciplinary artist. His works are primarily conceptualised around Chilika Lake, his hometown, to which he responds ecologically, culturally and historically. Pinaki bases his practice on the impact of environmental changes that have ravaged the vast lands and the waters of his beloved lake, using a flamboyance of flamingos as visual anchor, which very quickly have become synonymous with him. These installations of migratory birds are especially enduring, original and rare because they are dependent on the amount of scavenging of wood and stone he can manage to do every few weeks. Thus, no found material- no art! Pinaki’s practice is deeply influenced by the current materiality, literature and socio-political conditions of Chilika. The artist questions the politics of aesthetics as well as that of neo-liberal interventions to his land and its forgotten memories. Although he takes the water bodies of Chilika as the conceptual ground for his oeuvre, his larger intention is to trigger questions around global water bodies, poetic and literary references around lakes, their relationships and consequences of man-made events in post-capitalist times. Pinaki materialises his thoughts through sculptures, interactive installations and site-specific works, where the spectator can be a part of his experiences. He approaches art from an extremely personal perspective which makes his oeuvre irresistibly powerful. That strength then grows into a much larger universal landscape of concern as it demands new avenues to understand water bodies and current causality.

Pinaki completed his BFA in Sculpture from B.K. College of Art and Crafts, Bhubaneswar in 2007. He has been seriously practising for the past 10 years since he completed a Post Graduate Diploma in Ceramic Design from Kala Bhavan, Visva Bharati, Shantiniketan in 2013. His ecology-based installations have been highly appreciated at various exhibitions. His works have been continuously shown at our gallery space since 2021, when we made a conscious effort in our programming to support artists with vernacular expression and ecological concerns that emerged especially during the pandemic. His particular sensitivity towards ecology got him a special grant by the Serendipity Arts Foundation for the conceptualisation of a large interactive installation that was finally exhibited at their festival in Goa in December 2022. In 2015, he received a research scholarship with an exhibition at the Rashtriya Lalit Kala Akademi in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. Currently, Pinaki is working toward his solo exhibition with Art Centrix Space, scheduled for January 2026. His works have been featured in various art fairs and group exhibitions such as Art Mumbai with Art Centrix Space, Mumbai (2024); India Art Fair with Art Centrix Space, New Delhi (2023 and 2024); ‘Matrix: succinct ecosystems of thought’, (2023); ‘A Matter of Materials’ and ‘Our Line in The Sand’ (2022) and ‘Episteme’ (2021) with Art Centrix Space. Pinaki has also exhibited his works in several other group shows such as ‘ Things are vanishing before us’, curated by Premjish Achari,Bikaner House, New Delhi (2023); Yuva Sambab by Raza Foundation, curated by Ushmita Sahu (2022); ‘Gaj Utsav’, curated by Ina Puri, Wildlife Trust of India, Odisha (2023); Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi (2013); M. F. Hussain Art Gallery, Jamia Millia Islamia University, New Delhi (2010); AIFACS (2009); Ravindra Mandap by Tourism and Culture, Odisha (2006 and 2007); B. K. College of Art and Craft, Bhubaneswar, during his study years from 2004 through 2007. Pinaki has participated in workshops across the country including the ‘I am Gurgaon project’ workshop, (2019); Barbil Art Project III through the Utsha Foundation for Contemporary Art in Barbil, Keonjhar & Bhubaneswar (2017); stone carving workshop in Rajkot, Gujarat (2017); installation workshop at the Rashtriya Lalit Kala Akademi, Bhubaneswar (2015); readymade installation workshop with the support of the Utsha Foundation for Contemporary Art, Bhubaneswar, Odisha (2014); wood carving workshop at the Kanti Centre for Art in Puri, Odisha (2014); National wood carving workshop at the Vice- Versa Foundation, Panaji, Goa in 2012 and the Jodhpur painting workshop at the Bodhi Tree Monastery of Art, Jodhpur, Rajasthan in 2012. The artist lives and works in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India.