Nature has always inspired artists world over and each one of them have expressed the essence of nature and its relation to humanity in their own ways. There have been bold, beautiful experiments on its depictions. ‘The Earth Stories’ is one such series by artist Shalu Juneja.
Shalu has been an artist for over 13 years and is also the director and co-founder of Uno Lona Academy, an organization in Ahmedabad (Gujarat, India) that teaches art and design education.
She learned many things as an artist, one of which is to express herself. Through her recent series, “The Earth Stories”, Shalu Juneja has shed light on one of the most significant experiences known to mankind – Motherhood.
Shalu Juneja’s visual language, which explores figurative and abstract works, refers to the female form and the earth, as the mother. As giving and selfless as a mother, the earth too continues to provide and nurture mankind despite our ignorant vices. Her interest in these themes is motivated by her memories, experiences, and interactions in daily life – questioning the impact of words and actions on a mother, in the form of a female body or the earth as a whole.
Her spontaneous mark-making process while painting is inspired by her own observations of the chaos she finds within nature. This often results in accidents within my works, which are a direct reference to the accidental experiences of real life – good or bad. The whole act of mixing unrelated mediums, making gestural marks using unconventional tools and materials, and burning, tearing, or bleaching is a metaphor for humanity and its actions on earth. The resulting artworks are hence dense in their textures and colors.
Ever so often, Shalu Juneja’s work addresses issues of greater importance. In her own way, she wanted to make a difference in our society and shed light on the power and love of motherhood through the personification of mother earth.
A believer of erudite learning and an adherent of creative experimentation, Shalu Juneja has broken all odds. Along with being a successful female entrepreneur, she is also a pioneer for intrinsic Art and design education in our country. Being the lead educator, Shalu is responsible for designing curriculums, delivering these curriculums and also training her team of pedagogies.
Starting her professional journey as an artist, she exhibited her paintings in Ahmedabad as well as Chennai. Thereon, she ventured into retail décor and customised furniture under the banner Art n What Not. But soon Shalu realised that her true passion lay in teaching, and further went on to become the chief educator at the Uno Lona academy for arts and design.
Shalu has dedicated herself to shaping the careers of her students who are passionate about art and design. She wants to provide them with a more holistic approach that would eventually build their confidence in their trade.
It would not only help enable their freedom of expression but also nurture imagination and build competencies and skills in the real world. She seeks to promote the fact that Art and Design for students can be as lucrative a career as medicine and engineering, and with the right guidance and mentorship, the sky’s the limit.
Along with being an art history enthusiast, Shalu Juneja is also well engaged in the art of ceramics and has even built her very own ceramic studio in her academy. As an educationist Shalu urges and teaches her students to pursue their passion in education first and business second, for continuous learning is what puts you on the path of success.
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