Neha Vedpathak | Creative Force: Detroit

Vedpathak’s upbringing in India has played a vital role in her studio practice. Her work is deeply influenced by the rituals and meditation practices that were a prevalent part of her childhood.  Using a self invented technique she calls “plucking,” Vedpathak spends hundreds of hours separating the fibers of handmade Japanese paper with small pins. The process is slow, repetitive, and ultimately a meditation. Painted, sewn, and collaged, the result is a colorful abstract composition on a lace-like paper canvas. Vedpathak’s oeuvre fearlessly defies categorization and resides in a tactile space between mediums and isms. Leading with the material and the inventive process, She is a chronicler who weaves together inspiration and ideas from politics, feminism, and eastern philosophies. Through her studio practice Vedpathak aims to broaden the dialogue and understanding of issues related to identity, spirituality, and social and gender politics.

 

Her new body of work, titled “Creative Force” begins as a form of political protest against the oppressive laws depriving women of their reproductive rights. Vedpathak conjures the image of Kali, the Indian goddess of destruction and wrath, to express both personal and global fury. Further research into Tantric and Zen philosophies quickly led the artist to find a particular calm and strength. Ultimately, Vedpathak regains her familiar stoic stance and recognizes the interwoven, non-dual nature of self beyond the temporal ebb and flow.