From spider webs to canvas

Poonam Bhatnagar turns a spider’s web into a painting technique

In 2016, a spider spinning its web caught the eye of a textile designer and gave her an idea that would change the way she painted. That artist is Poonam Bhatnagar, and her webcast technique sits at the heart of her latest solo exhibition, Odyssey, held at the LTC gallery in New Delhi’s Bikaner House, where the collection reads like a personal travel diary on canvas. KHUSHII Art has organised the show with curator Uma Nair, and it moves between old cultural memories and the natural world. Up close, the canvases show thin lines laid one over another, and from a step back the acrylic looks almost like woven cloth.

The paintings fall into four groups. Prakriti has wide mountain views in the colours of early evening, and Mayura puts peacocks in front of old Rajasthani buildings. The Enlightened One shows faceless Buddhas meditating in thick bamboo, while Mythos brings in the gods, Shiva and Hanuman among them, framed by luminous, concentric forms. Her textile training is evident across the works, along with the long hours she has spent turning memories from her own life into pictures.

One striking painting even shows a small girl sitting peacefully under the protective hands of Hanuman. That little girl is the artist herself, sharing a private childhood bond with the deity. Adding a beautiful layer of purpose, part of the proceeds will help the KHUSHII NGO support education for underprivileged children.