The Open Studio / Sayan Mondal
Sayan Mondal
STRUGGLE
A man crawls through the dust while the vultures wait
Dust the colour of rust fills the whole field.
An orange shirt pushes into it, elbows deep, a stone pressing on his spine.
The girl on his shoulders cries into the haze and holds on to his hair.
One vulture spreads its wings on a dead branch. The other drops lower.
At the edge, a sunflower turns its face away from them all.
Below, small ants keep walking in a line.
The work
Sayan Mondal paints in New Delhi. In Struggle, an oil painting from 2026, a man crawls through brown earth. A heavy grey stone rests on his back. A small girl rides on his shoulders. He reaches for the roots of a large tree, where a yellow sunflower grows. Two vultures wait above him. Along the bottom, a line of ants walks towards the tree. Ants appear again and again in Mondal's work. For him they stand for discipline, unity and "tireless labor." The painting measures 91.44 × 121.92 cm.
In the artist’s words
“My work is about hard work and struggle as the path toward success and destiny. Nothing meaningful can be achieved without persistence, effort and endurance. The ant is a recurring symbol. It represents discipline, unity and tireless labour. Ants seem small, yet they are among the most hardworking creatures. Through them, I reflect quiet human effort that often goes unnoticed.”
- Theme
- Hard work and endurance
- Material
- Oil
- Size
- 91.44 × 121.92 cm
- Year
- 2026
- Edition
- 1 of 1
- Framed
- Yes
- About the artist
- College of art
- From
- New Delhi
- Code
- RC-3772
