The Open Studio / Esha Paul
Esha Paul
Synthetic smile
A happy face on a body that has lost its air
A yellow skin, crushed like a sweet wrapper.
One ear stands up. The other leans away.
The eyes are two small black seeds.
A white muzzle holds a drawn smile that does not move.
Light runs along the folds and turns brown in the creases.
Behind it, grey canvas, quiet as a shop shelf at night.
Two dark blue straps hold up what is left.
The work
Esha Paul comes from Alipurduar and studies at the Sarojini Naidu School of Arts and Communication, University of Hyderabad. She grew up with cheap plastic goods all around her. Now she paints them at a large size. Here a yellow toy bear fills a canvas 183 × 122 cm. Its skin folds and shines like an emptied balloon. Paul paints in acrylic on purpose. It is a plastic-based paint, so the material itself becomes part of the idea. She calls our time the Plastocene.
In the artist’s words
“Colour, in my work, acts as a sensory trap. The vivid pinks, electric blues and neon yellows of my canvases mirror the 'fake happiness' of social media and consumer culture. They offer an initial seduction that, upon closer inspection, gives way to a sense of unease. Acrylic, a plastic-based medium, lets the material itself participate in the narrative of artificiality.”
- Theme
- Plastic and false happiness
- Material
- Acrylic on canvas
- Size
- 183 × 122 cm
- Year
- 2026
- Edition
- 1
- Framed
- Yes
- About the artist
- Sarojini Naidu School of Arts and Communication, University of Hyderabad
- From
- Alipurduar
- Code
- RC-406
