Sovan Gorai

My artistic practice is rooted in the experiences of migration, memory, labour and belonging. Born and raised in the village of Nabagram in Bankura, West Bengal, and later shaped by the urban realities of Kolkata, I navigate the space between rural and urban life. This transition has profoundly influenced my understanding of the human body as a vessel of memory, labour and lived experience.

In contemporary India, migration is not merely a movement across geography; it is a transformation of identity, where individuals often leave behind familiar worlds in search of survival and opportunity. I am particularly interested in the invisible lives that sustain cities — the migrant workers, labourers and marginalised communities whose contributions remain essential yet largely unacknowledged. Through my work, I explore the tensions between visibility and invisibility, presence and absence, belonging and displacement.

Working across sculpture, drawing, installation and assemblage, I use materials such as clay, wood, terracotta, metal and found objects that carry traces of time, use and history. I am drawn to fragmented forms, weathered surfaces and discarded materials because they embody resilience, vulnerability and transformation. My figures often appear incomplete or obscured, reflecting the fragile conditions of those who exist at the margins of social and cultural visibility.

By bringing together traditional craft knowledge, personal memory and contemporary concerns, I seek to create works that function as both intimate reflections and social documents. Ultimately, my practice is an act of remembering — an attempt to give form to overlooked experiences and to honour the dignity, endurance and humanity of those whose stories are too often left unseen.