Using acrylic on canvas, Ruchi Ruuh employs dyed threads to craft concentric circles, allowing her stitches to guide her. Her work emerges from a personal and meditative space, and to comprehend its complexity, gazing becomes crucial. Her art, mirroring the process, is dramatic. She engages in an affair – her process is both sacred and sensual. The romance with her work intensifies as the prick of the needle reminds one of the hurt, a sentiment fused with the fabric of love. Drawing inspiration from her roots, she traces back to her maternal grandmother who introduced her to the world of Punjab's folk embroidery, Phulkari. However, Ruuh transcends traditional and historical boundaries, appropriating the method to make it her own. She scatters beads and metal materials on the canvas, allowing her piece to be tactile. Upon observation, one sees various elements – the aerial view of a city from an airplane window, maps, playgrounds, streets, a polluted town, constellations, planets, or even the compositions that clouds cast. She translates her ideas into a universe where coexistence is possible – structured, yet unstructured; simple, yet convoluted. The resultant canvas is the visual poetry of her thoughts. Her art is an extension of her practice as a mental health professional.

​

​

Dots: An excerpt by Eric Chopra