Kolkata, Michelle Poonawalla’s solo exhibition ‘Born Free’ presents 17 new works in a tribute to her great grandfather, renowned artist Jehangir Vazifdar.

The exhibition, which opened at the famous Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai, on November six, features nine works by Poonawalla’s great grandfather whose unique technique has inspired the exhibition, the gallery said in an emailed statement to UNI here today.

For Poonawalla, following in her ancestor’s footsteps was a natural progression, having had successful exhibitions across Delhi, Pune and Parma (Italy) earlier this year. The exhibition presents a series of animal portraitures that depict the power of the natural world – from the strength of a lion to the fragile beauty of the butterfly.

Utilising a technique developed by Jehangir Vazifdar known as his ‘fake proof’ technique Poonawalla mixes the paints directly on the canvas creating a thick impasto style which is carved into with a ruler, resulting in a thick textured effect.

In several works, Poonawalla has overlayed her own digital video mapping technique which allows the portraits to run off the canvas, into the gallery and the viewers world.

‘Video mapping and motion sensors are incredible new technologies and I’m really excited by the possibilities they have opened up for my practice. Having visited many exhibitions around the world you often see projected videos or even mapped projections but I have never seen anyone bring it into a gallery in this way.

It really allows me to bring the paintings to the audience and I’m excited to be able to develop on this technique for my upcoming project at Kochi Muziris Biennale,’ Michelle Poonawalla was quoted as saying by the release.