#InConversationwith Santosh Jain
By SANTOSH JAIN | Jul 3 2026 · 15 mins
The Women Change. The Questions Remain.
As an artist I believe art is my second language. Sometimes it is difficult for me to explain something so deeply through words. But through art, I find that when I start saying things, people seem to understand them better. And while viewing - or perhaps listening to what I have to say through my art, they sometimes add their own stories.
I see myself as a storyteller, and I find that very interesting...
Everyday, when I meet different people, I discover new stories. Sometimes I feel these stories are more or less the same, only told by different people and in different ways. That is why bridging different moments in time matters to me. When I look closely, I often feel that the same things keep happening again and again. The people may change, the circumstances may change, but many emotions and experiences remain the same, and the truth often finds its way into my work.
One such truth is that of the womanhood. The theme of womanhood, in all its forms : seen and unseen has been a constant thread throughout my career. While the mediums and expressions have changed over the years, the presence and significance of women in my work has not.
As a woman, I both sympathise and empathise with the female form. I see women as emotional beings, silent sufferers, pillars of strength, and also game players.
Like many women, I have experienced moments of silence, compromise, injustice and quiet resilience. For years, I believe many of these experiences were my own. But over time, as I met and spoke with women from different walks of life; a flower seller in Madurai, a fellow artist in Europe, a stranger encountered during my travels, I began to realise that almost every women carried a story. Though our lives were different, there were emotions and experiences that resonated deeply with my own. Over seven decades, these conversations and observations have shaped the way I see women and the world around me. From old fables to modern stories, women have carried these many shades through time.
Santosh jain with Yogyakarta Artists in Bali
Santosh Jain in Bali
Yet historically speaking, in the stories we have told through fables, mythology, literature, theatre, and art, women have rarely been the central character. More often than not, they have been pushed into the background, their roles, desires, and existence defined by their service to others. While women have undoubtedly made remarkable progress in many spheres of life, I often find myself questioning how much has truly changed in their everyday lives. Has this change really seeped into our families, our relationships, and the way society sees women? Or have many of the old burdens simply taken new forms?
Untitled, 2026 24 x 16 inches
Solitude Series 12 x 8 inches
My time as a printmaker fellow in Amsterdam deeply shaped my artistic journey, especially the quiet hours spent at the Van Gogh Museum, absorbing the works of the Impressionists. Over the years, travels with artist groups across Europe deepened this connection. I continue to be drawn to their portrayals of women and stories that continue to unfold within them .
Untitled, 2026 30 x 20 inches
This influence can be seen in my mixed media works, where I layer personal photographs from everyday life with fragments from iconic western paintings. By extracting female figures from their original stories and placing them alongside women I have captured through my lens or drawn by hand, I create layered narratives that invite reflection. These juxtapositions are not merely visual. They open up space for new stories to be told, for meanings to shift, and for women to take their place at the centre. It is not homage but a form of dialogue, bringing the past into conversation with the present.
These questions continue to stay with me and shape my practice. The process of making, however it may be, is also deeply therapeutic.
That's why I always say that Art is my second language. Through it, I continue to explore these questions while finding healing along the way...
