Shruti Nelson is a multi-faceted contemporary artist who rejects rigid artistic moulds by fluidly working across sculpting, fashion, textile design, and mixed-media painting. Driven by an impatience with the flat geometry of traditional canvases, she often paints directly onto garments to encase the human body and extends her artwork onto the surrounding frames. Her highly intuitive process bypasses preparatory sketches, plunging directly into a chaotic layering of scribbles, cutouts, punctured holes, sequins, and broad color washes before she ultimately rescues the composition into a structured, vibrant surface.

Deeply influenced by her Zoology studies in Baroda, Nelson channels her knowledge of animal psychology and wildlife into surreal, dreamlike themes. She masterfully employs repetition to displace wild animals from their native habitats, like the Serengeti, and forces them to cohabit unfamiliar spaces with figures from the world of glamour. Ultimately, these multi-layered, chaotic visual environments serve as a personal, subliminal looking glass, allowing the artist to give vent to her intimate fantasies and a deep desire for transformation.