Artist Om Soorya has always been drawn to nature. As a child, he closely observed images on calendars and photographs, often trying to recreate them on paper. “My visual sensibility developed from the contrast between what I saw in reality and what was represented in calendar images or photographs. Later, I realised that the landscapes I paint are not merely representations of the external world; they are also states of mind—a kind of mindscape,” he says.
Currently, his works are on view in Delhi as part of his solo exhibition ‘The Luminous Twilight: Place No Trace / Trace No Place’, which looks at landscape as both a geographical and social construct shaped by memory, erasure, and transformation. Through this body of work, Soorya examines how places are produced, remembered, dissolved, and reimagined amid rapid urbanisation, technological change, and shifting ideologies.
Born in Kerala, his practice draws from historical awareness and emotional memory, translating experiences of instability and transition into atmospheric, introspective landscapes.
His work often explores ideas of memory and change. “I have always searched for my own space,” he says, describing his landscapes as a “third space” where he can plant and bury personal memories. “Every individual requires a space to exist. I have often questioned where to place myself socially, culturally, and politically. I have carried a sense of ‘otherness’ within me and often felt that I belonged nowhere. My identity has been fragmented.”
His education in Kerala’s and later move to Hyderabad also shaped his artistic language. “Growing up in rural villages in Kerala gave me grounded experiences—from hill stations to coastal areas—along with deep exposure to nature, culture, and politics. Hyderabad, on the Deccan Plateau, offered a completely different geography with panoramic views and ancient rock formations,” he says. Travelling to cities such as Zurich, New York, Houston, and Shanghai further broadened his understanding of space and lived environments.
When asked what he hopes viewers take away from the exhibition, Soorya says he sees painting as a non-verbal, sensory medium. “The ideas in my paintings are secondary. I want viewers to experience the work and feel content without searching for fixed meanings. I would be happy if they felt detached from their surroundings, even for a moment,” he says.
He adds that the restless surfaces of his paintings guide the viewer’s eye from one point to another, slowly turning the act of looking into a calm, meditative process.
On view at