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InspirationArt & Culture

Fantastically bizarre and grotesque paintings that fuse human bodies with animals

This collection of surreal paintings is by Brooklyn-based artist Sahana Ramakrishnan, who was born in Mumbai and educated in Singapore and America.

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Surreal painting in ochre and orange tones depicting overlapping human faces and bodies fused with animals and organic forms, with intricate ink line drawings throughout

Her birthplace and travels has inspired Sahana’s work, which thrives off the drama that exists in cultural melting pots. Fascinated with the influence religion, myth, and fiction have on our daily lives, she explores how the human body "traverses a space that straddles the fantastical and the mundane".

Marrying the freakish, the funny, and the beautiful in images that simultaneously glorify and laugh at the human body, her paintings, drawings, and prints are vibrant with grotesque imagery. Her inspiration ranges from human biology and anatomy to her experiences in tropical reefs and rainforests; from Buddhist and Hindu mythology to the diversity and drama in the lives of people she interacts with everyday.

Discover more at sahana-ramakrishnan.com.

Via direct submission | All images courtesy of Sahana Ramakrishnan

Mixed media artwork by Sahana Ramakrishnan featuring a human figure fused with yellow birds, insects and anatomical elements against a cream background with decorative blue textile detail
Sahana Ramakrishnan surreal painting featuring intertwined human and animal forms with watercolour washes, ink details and yellow accents on cream paper
Sahana Ramakrishnan's surreal mixed-media artwork merging a nude female figure with an owl's head adorned with a floral crown, accompanied by smaller owl portraits in ornate frames.
Sahana Ramakrishnan's surreal mixed-media artwork featuring grotesque human-animal hybrids with ornamental elements, beads, and intricate line drawings on a cream background
A winged figure with intricate patterned feathers holds a stringed instrument against a dreamy landscape with blue rock formations and scattered orange dots
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