Drawn to Life: Sketchbooks of Rini Dhumal

Drawing the line is the oldest form of visual artistic expression known to man, from pre-historic cave drawings onwards. Every culture in the world, across continents and time-frames, has a rich store of traditional art which is drawing-based. The power of the line to enclose or open up space, create or suggest form, is almost infinite. And the artist uses drawing in an infinite number of ways. Some might draw as practice, to strengthen or develop technique, to keep private visual notes, as experimental and exploratory exercises; others make a drawing as a finished work in its own right. Rini Dhumal does all of the above. One only has to look through her sketchbooks to see this. Piles of sketchbooks yield a forest of pages covered with drawings that cross years and continents. There is history here, and geography, nature and culture. Drawing upon a storehouse of historical details, the splendours of her childhood, and anecdotal references from various travels, she creates a vivid aesthetic in her art-making.