About Sumana's Practice

Expressing my thoughts through mixed media artwork, I explore the relationship between space and events. Combining present incidents with their past implications, I navigate the challenge of conveying depth within a flat surface. My work often explores the dichotomy of human behavior and utilizes proverbs to represent ideal truths. Themes such as bullying, discrimination, stereotypes, latent desires, insecurities, and aspirations are conveyed through words and images in my artwork. The inspiration for my work stems from various sources, including short stories, novels,  Bengali literature, and Hindi cinema, which vividly depict different behavioral perceptions. My art manifests in both large-scale narrative explorations and small-scale representations of instantaneous thoughts, inviting viewers to engage with the profound layers of meaning within each piece.

Career Biography

Born in Burdwan, West Bengal, Sumana Som completed her bachelor's from the College of Art & Design, University of Burdwan (2011), West Bengal, and her master's from the University of Hyderabad, Telangana (2013). She completed her PhD as a partner research fellow at the Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad, Telangana, and the Swinburne University of Technology, Victoria, Australia, (2022). She started her work in the creative field as a painter and slowly integrated her work with multiple mediums. Currently, she is working with 3D software and interactive devices. Some of her group shows include Allegories of Threads, Dhi Artspace, Hyderabad (2021); Allegories and Voices: Contemporary Drawing as thought, Hyderabad Literary Festival 2021, Hyderabad (2021); On Art Fair by MOJARTO (2020); Mapping Territories, Dhi Artspace, Hyderabad (2018); Shifting Realities, Shridharani Art Gallery & Anant Art Gallery, New Delhi (2017); Emerging Canvas Gallery @ INKO Centre, Chennai (2017) and Emerging Canvas – IV, Indian Art Museum in Seoul, South Korea (2016). She has received Inlaks Fine Arts award (2013), Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grants (2016), 55th National award, New Delhi (2014) and Junior Research Fellowship, UGC (2015), Swinburne Postgraduate Research Award, SUPRA (2018-19). She has also received a research excellence certificate from IIT Hyderabad (2022). 

Sumana Som lives and works in Hyderabad.