The Open Studio / Hardik
Hardik
Toys and Desire I
On the roof at night a string pulls toward something unsaid
Purple ink settles over the roofs like late smoke.
A boy leans back and holds a string that goes somewhere we cannot see.
Water tanks keep still. A cat keeps walking.
The moon is small and hard as a coin.
Something white slips out of the dark and does not wait.
The city goes on sleeping around what it wants.
The work
A boy stands on a flat roof at night and pulls a long string. Behind him a crowded city rises in grey and purple layers under a heavy sky. A black cat walks along a wall. Near the moon hangs a round shape like a wheel. A soft white form pushes past the edge. Hardik makes this print in 2025 with etching and aquatint. The artist is interested in desire that sits under everyday life. Here it hides in small things: a toy, a string and a cat.
In the artist’s words
“My work explores sexuality, hidden desire, vulnerability and the tension between what is expressed and what remains unspoken. I am interested in how desire exists beneath the surface of everyday life. Some works use symbols, gestures and ambiguous imagery to suggest what remains unspoken. Printmaking's layering, repetition and experimentation let me make images that reflect the complexity of desire.”
- Theme
- Hidden everyday desire
- Material
- Etching and aquatint on paper
- Size
- 22 × 17 cm
- Year
- 2025
- Edition
- 6
- Framed
- Yes
- About the artist
- College of art, New Delhi
- From
- New Delhi
- Code
- RC-285
