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Saranjit Birdi

Birmingham
I work with a variety of art forms, often in combination, underpinned by my foundations as a dancer and architect. These range from drawing, performance and dance-based installation, painting, digital collage and animation, and public art/sculpture.
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With foundations in architecture, dance and fine art, I now have a broad combined-arts approach, a notion that all arts are ‘joined at the hip’. Mediums and art forms include:

  • Drawing and Painting (figurative and abstract)
  • Performance Art, Poetry, Dance
  • Photography and Digital collage and animation
  • Public Art, Events and Sculpture
  • Arts in Health
  • I often use my own poetry in combination with other art forms

I have three main project series; ‘Mapping Bones’ 2011-present; ‘Bombed 2011-present; ‘Secret Life of Plants’ 2023 0n

‘Mapping Bones’ - Contemporary drawing and performance art

Drawing is a special focus of my practice. In 1996, I discovered an ability to draw accurately, ambidextrously, with various parts of my body. This led to my interest in human locomotion and anthropology and developed into a drawing performance series ‘Mapping Bones’ and ‘Thisability’ (2008 to current). Reading Museum and University of Reading acquired two drawings in 2022 under the ‘Drawing Diversity’ residency.

‘ Bombed’ - War and Conflict, action-painting, drawing and performance art

I am interested in themes of war, conflict, identity and territoriality being of Indian, Sikh heritage with British nationality and living in a diverse community. This has developed over twelve years (2011-2023) into a performance-painting series ‘Bombed’, now an international project with performance in Dresden, Germany. My creative process often involves public participation unlocking local histories, and collaborations with professional and non-professional artists.

‘Secret Life of Plants’ and ‘Seed Lights’ - Paintings and sculpture

Fifteen odd years ago I became fascinated with the dynamic forms of flora and relationship to music. This has emerged into ongoing series ‘Secret Life of Plants’ (2023) with an event work ‘Seed Lights’ (2024) combining architectural scale light projection, animation and live music and poetry.

My inspiration is my late father Surjit Singh Birdi, an acclaimed Punjabi author and poet, a painting enthusiast and consummate artist. I am currently working on a decolonising project translating and interpreting his short stories through visual art works. I use my own poetry in combination with other art forms.

Born in India 1960, I am now based in Birmingham, UK. I have works in private and public collections, and several public art sculptures. I am an Associate member of the RBSA gallery in Birmingham.

 

Seed Lights

Exhibition - 'Secret Life of Plants' and 'Poeisis', 10th March to 3rd September 2023

Bombed - A Trilogy a combined-Arts Exhibition

THE DANCE - Series

'Bombed - Full Circle'

'What was, what will be'- drawing work for group exhibition 'Human Story' April 2019. Birmingham

'Withdrawn'- Live performance 2004

'Remembrance'- Mapping Bones 5

'Bombed- A Moonlight Sonata Part II' Dresden, Germany

Exhibition 'Mapping Bones 4 - They Cross Oceans'

Mapping Bones 3 - Saranjit Birdi

Mapping Bones 2- performance and drawing

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