Neha Misra Studio

This painting is inspired by a formative story about my Nana ji (maternal grandfather) who used to remind my young mother to learn from the sacred lotus flower - while a lotus grows in a swamp, it has evolved to be untouched by the filth that surrounds it. Two Neelkanth (literally meaning blue throated) birds take flight above. Neelkanth, also a name of Shiva, is associated with a mythological Samudra Manthan or "Churning of the Ocean” origin story about transcending poison. Neelkanth birds are increasingly impacted by poaching and pesticides. The time machine at the bottom of the painting is about discovery of family stories through the ticking clocks of modern life. A timeless turtle floats through the tides of time. I find it poetic that turtles are associated with the origin stories of my Indian inheritance, and with the Indigenous People and First Nations of North American land which (be)holds me presently.

This painting is a part of my murmuration series which visually explores sustainability lessons from birds migrations.The painting evokes wonderments of magnificent bird formations, wisdom birds teach us about gathering and living, and concern for our impact on birds in the age of Climate Change. The border, inspired by border of a saree, connects me to my border home and homes I have left behind in my immigrant journey - as migratory birds do too. In flight, the birds generously uplift both the viewer and the maker.

This sacred geometry painting is a vision of humans transcending dualities as a part of healing and liberation process. Contemplation from sacred text of my Indian lineage on the border evokes ancient wisdom beyond dualities. The bright contrasting colors and mythical creatures intertwine symbology and imaginary visions for possibilities of transformation for physical, mental, spiritual wellbeing.

Songs of World Wide Weblings is a part of my Indra’s Web of Interdependence series which explores the cosmology and spiritual ecology of interdependence across traditions of my migratory South Asian inheritance. How can we remember and embody this ancient fractal wisdom in a burning contemporary world that has forgotten the interdependence lessons to serve ego-logy instead of a shared ecology? How can we realize that we are weblings tied together in this web of life ? How can we our honor ourselves and more than a human life as world wide weblings?

This painting is a part of my murmuration series which visually explores sustainability lessons from birds migrations.The painting evokes wonderments of magnificent bird formations, wisdom birds teach us about gathering and living, and concern for our impact on birds in the age of Climate Change.

This painting is inspired by a Chipkali - a tropical Indian lizard that entered the place of worship in my parent’s home in Delhi, India during the 2020 lockdown. A series of intergenerational WhatsApp conversations between Delhi and Maryland on the reverence for Lizards rooted in diverse myths and beliefs followed. The path led me virtually to the legend of a temple in South India which has healing lizard engravings on the ceiling of a small chamber. Lizards represent varied beliefs across human civilizations, including communication between human and other worlds. Killing a lizard is believed to bring negative effects in many cultures - there is even a detailed topography of symbology of lizard parts falling on a human. What if we learn from nature’s intelligence, instead of brushing off this reverence for natural beings in the times of artificial intelligence as superstition? What if the real superstition is human arrogance that is plundering Mother Earth to which we belong? In the times of planetary crisis, this painting is dedicated to the spiritual ecology of seeming ordinary beings like lizards that hold extraordinary lessons of planetary stewardship through their symbols and anatomy alike.