Raju Baraiya is the eighth recipient of the Glenfiddich/bestcollege art Emerging artist of the year award. He completed his diploma in painting from faculty of fine arts, M.S university ,Vadodara, Gujarat, 2013 and is currently pursuing post diploma in painting from faculty of fine arts, MS university, Vadodara , Gujarat.
Image making for me has been a continuous endeavour towards relocation. I hail from a village setup, while currently living and working in cities. There is an evolving conflict between contexts ( two different place known and lived in) and a similar visual interpretation. This continuous struggle although has been a blessing in disguise, for the images I come up with. It has provided me with valuable insights and has also knowingly and unknowingly been at the core of my inspiration. There is continuous urge in negotiating a common ground to pin down the two influences.
I am always grateful for the opportunity to discover a new place and developing thoughtful visuals in response to it. New culture and beliefs create greater and fresher insights for expression. My intention is to absorb the sensibilities of any new place and respond in a manner that reflects in an analogy through installation or an interactive work. The medium of presentation and the resulting image completely banking on the space that find myself in. The expression informs a response to the context and the preconceptions and preoccupations I hold of my native place forming an analogy. The expression could also be a commentary upon the new place in some form.
