From 'Silent Stories'  
Delhi

Metamorphosis on Paper

Travel, solitude, and nature inform Badush Babu’s works, part of 'The Body Speaks', an exhibition examining emotion, identity, and the human form 

Adithi Reena Ajith

Artist Badush Babu paints from memory and of the beauty of his mother’s garden. In his series ‘Silent Stories’, he captures mushrooms, vines, moths, and organic forms to explore decay, growth, and transformation. He began the series during a difficult period in his life, finding comfort in poetry and nature. “There was a search in my mind for a healing touch,” he says. “Over time, the human presence faded, returning only through metamorphosis — dead plants, tree bark, and roots becoming symbols of change.”

Babu’s works are currently on display in ‘The Body Speaks’ at Art Incept in Gurugram, alongside the works of Deepanjali Shekhar, Indu Antony, Isha Sharma Haritash, and Rinku Choudhary. Curated by Rahul Kumar, the exhibition explores the human body’s ability to express emotion, memory, and meaning. 

Artist Badush Babu

“The human body has always been central to artistic inquiry, but today it carries new questions — of identity, vulnerability, and belonging,” says Gayatri Singh, founder of Art Incept. “This show brings together artists who look at the figure not as an object, but as a living archive of emotion and experience. As a gallery committed to emerging voices, we hope this exhibition opens space for reflection, dialogue, and connection.” 

In Babu’s works, nature becomes an equal presence alongside the body. “I’m not separating nature from humans — we’re part of it,” he says. “Sometimes a flower or a tree invites us in, connecting to our feelings and thoughts. For me, nature is healing, even if only certain parts speak to us.”

His drawings are primarily black and white, using charcoal and pencil — a medium he discovered during his BFA while experimenting with soot impressions from kerosene lamps and impressions of flowers and leaves. “Charcoal itself is a metaphor,” he explains. “It carries decay, growth, and transformation. It turns to dust, shifts, becomes something else — the drawing keeps changing. The medium is poetic and philosophical in itself.”

Travel, solitude, and reflection shape his practice. Art became a way to express emotions that resisted language. “There are feelings I still struggle to explain,” he says. “Drawing helped.” Over time, what once felt like loneliness turned into a meaningful space for thought and creation. “Sometimes I find answers, sometimes I heal, sometimes I reinterpret old moments. Loneliness slowly shifted into solitude. Now I welcome that quiet, and I use those emotions to create.”

On view at Art Incept, South Point Mall, Golf Course Road, DLF Phase 5, Gurugram, from 11 am to 6 pm, until January 10, 2026 

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