Prasad KV
B.
1985
Bengaluru
"
Perils of the hive mind
"
My artistic practice is rooted in the lived realities of contemporary urban life, shaped profoundly by my experiences in Bangalore, a city constantly in flux. Over the past fifteen years my artistic practice has primarily explored the socio-political and ecological tensions embedded in the everyday: the transformation of landscapes, systems of labor and migration, the commodification of food, and the psychological impact of capitalism on individuals and communities.
Drawing from personal observation, memory, and local narratives, my works are visual essays on the changing city. I explore how construction, consumption, capitalism, education, and socio-cultural hierarchies play out in urban spaces, often focusing on those pushed to the margins. These realities are then filtered through a metaphorical lens inspired by Indian mythology, Kannada literature, and folk traditions, allowing me to create layered, symbolic imagery that resists literal interpretation.
Recurring motifs such as serpents, termite hills, froth, or dry earth act as allegories of power, decay, and transformation. I often employ hybrid figures or imagined mythic forms to comment on contemporary crises—ecological, political, or existential—while grounding them in culturally specific references.
My practice is multidisciplinary, responding to the complexity of the themes I engage with. Whether through drawing, painting, installation, or text, I aim to create work that provokes reflection on how we inhabit the city, how systems shape our lives, and how the mythic continues to inform the modern.
As an artist navigating a rapidly transforming urban environment, my work is both a personal archive and a political critique, a space where the city is re-imagined through myth, memory, and metaphor.
artworks
Hunger Artist - Id-Ego-Super Ego (Triptych)
2013
Oil pastel on Fabriano paper
60 × 72 in
Pandemic Solitude, 8 (Set of 9)
2021
Pen and watercolor on Fabriano paper
11.7 × 16.5 in
Kuruhu (Sign), 25 (Set of 27)
2013
Oil pastel on Fabriano paper
A3, 54 × 120 in
Loudspeakers
2015
Oil pastel on city map (paper)
23 × 18 in
Kuruhu (Sign), 23 (Set of 27)
2013
Oil pastel on Fabriano paper
A3, 54 × 120 in
Mayamruga - Head
2013
Oil pastel on Fabriano paper
22 × 30 in
Kuruhu (Sign), 16 (Set of 27)
2013
Oil pastel on Fabriano paper
A3, 54 × 120 in
Kuruhu (Sign), 6 (Set of 27)
2013
Oil pastel on Fabriano paper
A3, 54 × 120 in
Kuruhu (Sign), 12 (Set of 27)
2013
Oil pastel on Fabriano paper
A3, 54 × 120 in
Kuruhu (Sign) - 1
2013
Oil pastel and ink on Fabriano paper
24 × 28 in
Kuruhu (Sign), 7 (Set of 27)
2013
Oil pastel on Fabriano paper
A3, 54 × 120 in
Pandemic Solitude, 2 (Set of 9)
2021
Pen and watercolor on Fabriano paper
11.7 × 16.5 in
Loudspeaker
2015
Oil pastel on city map (paper)
23 × 18 in
Phantom Baggage
2013
Oil pastel on paper
22 × 30 in
Hamburgereshwara-1
2015
Watercolor, oil pastel and photocopy prints on Fabriano paper
23 × 18 in
Hunger Artist - 2
2013
Oil pastel on paper
22 × 30 in
Chicken
2015
Oil pastel on city map (paper)
23 × 18 in
Kuruhu (Sign), 19 (Set of 27)
2013
Oil pastel on Fabriano paper
A3, 54 × 120 in
Seed of Kalinga
2025
Ball pen and watercolour on archival paper
14.3 × 10.6 in
Songs of Kalinga
2026
Watercolor on archival paper
Kuruhu (Sign), 14 (Set of 27)
2013
Oil pastel on Fabriano paper
A3, 54 × 120 in
Kuruhu (Sign), 26 (Set of 27)
2013
Oil pastel on Fabriano paper
A3, 54 × 120 in
Jeevataru
2014
Pen on Fabriano paper
60 × 96 in
Suli (Whirlpool)
2015
Oil pastel on paper
29 × 29 in
Hunger Artist - 1
2013
Oil pastel on paper
22 × 30 in
Kuruhu (Sign), 4 (Set of 27)
2013
Oil pastel on Fabriano paper
A3, 54 × 120 in
Kuruhu (Sign), 24 (Set of 27)
2013
Oil pastel on Fabriano paper
A3, 54 × 120 in
Mayamruga
2013
Oil pastel on Fabriano paper
22 × 30 in
Pandemic Solitude, 9 (Set of 9)
2021
Pen and watercolor on Fabriano paper
11.7 × 16.5 in
Kuruhu (Sign), 9 (Set of 27)
2013
Oil pastel on Fabriano paper
A3, 54 × 120 in
Pop Corn
2015
Oil pastel on city map (paper)
23 × 18 in
Tick, Tick... Boom!
2025
Ball pen and watercolour on archival paper
12.7 × 9.5 in
Kuruhu (Sign), 20 (Set of 27)
2013
Oil pastel on Fabriano paper
A3, 54 × 120 in
Kuruhu (Sign), 17 (Set of 27)
2013
Oil pastel on Fabriano paper
A3, 54 × 120 in
Pandemic Solitude, 3 (Set of 9)
2021
Pen and watercolor on Fabriano paper
11.7 × 16.5 in
Pandemic Solitude, 4 (Set of 9)
2021
Pen and watercolor on Fabriano paper
11.7 × 16.5 in
Kuruhu (Sign), 1 (Set of 27)
2013
Oil pastel on Fabriano paper
A3, 54 × 120 in
Ice Cream
2015
Oil pastel on city map (paper)
23 × 18 in
Kuruhu (Sign), 3 (Set of 27)
2013
Oil pastel on Fabriano paper
A3, 54 × 120 in
Pandemic Solitude, 7 (Set of 9)
2021
Pen and watercolor on Fabriano paper
11.7 × 16.5 in
Kuruhu (Sign), 10 (Set of 27)
2013
Oil pastel on Fabriano paper
A3, 54 × 120 in
Pandemic Solitude, 5 (Set of 9)
2021
Pen and watercolor on Fabriano paper
11.7 × 16.5 in
Kuruhu (Sign), 8 (Set of 27)
2013
Oil pastel on Fabriano paper
A3, 54 × 120 in
Namma Samadhi
2025
Watercolor on archival paper
21.5 × 29.5 in
Pandemic Solitude, 1 (Set of 9)
2021
Pen and watercolor on Fabriano paper
11.7 × 16.5 in
Kuruhu (Sign), 11 (Set of 27)
2013
Oil pastel on Fabriano paper
A3, 54 × 120 in
Kuruhu (Sign), 27 (Set of 27)
2013
Oil pastel on Fabriano paper
A3, 54 × 120 in
Bloom of Kalinga
2026
Watercolor on archival paper
9.5 × 12.5 in
Pandemic Solitude, 6 (Set of 9)
2021
Pen and watercolor on Fabriano paper
11.7 × 16.5 in
Kuruhu (Sign), 13 (Set of 27)
2013
Oil pastel on Fabriano paper
A3, 54 × 120 in
Phantom and Image
2013
Oil pastel on paper
30 × 44 in
Hamburgereshwara, Pizzanatha, Corn Kalasha (Triptych)
2014
Oil pastel on Fabriano paper
60 × 108 in
Coca-Cola
2015
Oil pastel on city map (paper)
23 × 18 in
Ziggurat of Urban
2025
Ball pen, archival pen and watercolour on archival paper
9.5 × 12.5 in
Bud of Kalinga
2025
Ball pen and watercolour on archival paper
14.3 × 10.6 in
Kuruhu (Sign), 22 (Set of 27)
2013
Oil pastel on Fabriano paper
A3, 54 × 120 in
Fruit of Kalinga
2026
Watercolor colour on archival paper
9.5 x 12.5 in
Kuruhu (Sign), 2 (Set of 27)
2013
Oil pastel on Fabriano paper
A3, 54 × 120 in
Kuruhu (Sign), 18 (Set of 27)
2013
Oil pastel on Fabriano paper
A3, 54 × 120 in
Kuruhu (Sign), 15 (Set of 27)
2013
Oil pastel on Fabriano paper
A3, 54 × 120 in
Phantom Progression
2013
Oil pastel on paper
22 × 30 in
Kuruhu (Sign), 21 (Set of 27)
2013
Oil pastel on Fabriano paper
A3, 54 × 120 in
Kuruhu (Sign), 5 (Set of 27)
2013
Oil pastel on Fabriano paper
A3, 54 × 120 in