Raj Kumar Sahani is a visual artist from India with both graduate and postgraduate degrees in painting from Jamia Millia Islamia University in New Delhi. He has also completed a course in photography and film appreciation at the China Academy of Arts. Currently, he is pursuing a Ph.D. in China. Sahani has led a rural awareness program in a village in Varanasi called Project Saraimohana. His artistic interests primarily focus on social differences that evoke various human emotions such as joy, happiness, anger, agony, and redemption. He also observes these emotions reflected in animals, which may explain why cultures, despite their geographical or historical differences, often use animal figures to convey human expression. Social conditioning is central to his earlier works, which he typically creates on paper. Working with constrained two-dimensional pieces in square or rectangular formats allows him to craft more iconic and centralized compositions. These works are often morphed, ambiguous, and surreal, serving as a mirror to our social situations. By understanding the referential value of these objects, viewers can grasp the underlying social satire. Sahani frequently represents his experiences in society through zoomorphic figures. He believes that the formation of the human mind is influenced by psychology and conditioning, leading to various differences. These ever-changing differences drive him to question certain social aspects and explore themes beyond them.
