The Open Studio / Esha Paul
Esha Paul
keep smiling
A toy's grin grows too wide to trust
The sky slides from grape to sweet pink to pool water.
A red face splits open with every tooth counted.
The eyes hold still while the hands keep clapping.
Between two dark cymbals a gold star is caught.
The knees shine like bruised fruit.
The smile was moulded once and cannot close.
The work
A toy monkey sits in soft pink and teal light. It grins with every tooth showing. Its hands close two dark cymbals around a yellow star. Esha Paul, of Alipurduar and the Sarojini Naidu School of Arts and Communication, University of Hyderabad, grew up among cheap plastic goods. Paul paints one such toy at 183 × 122 cm. That is much taller than a child. The paint is acrylic by choice. It is a medium made from plastic. So the material itself joins the story.
In the artist’s words
“I recontextualise inexpensive toys, industrial fragments and inflatable forms. Colour in my work acts as a sensory trap. The vivid pinks, electric blues and neon yellows mirror the 'fake happiness' of social media and consumer culture. They offer an initial seduction that, on closer inspection, gives way to a sense of unease.”
- Theme
- Manufactured happiness
- Material
- Acrylic on canvas
- Size
- 183 × 122 cm
- Year
- 2025
- Edition
- 1
- Framed
- Yes
- About the artist
- Sarojini Naidu School of Arts and Communication, University of Hyderabad
- From
- Alipurduar
- Code
- RC-411
