PROFILE

Kavita Issar Batra is a Singapore-based visual artist, whose practice is rooted in daily observation and deep engagement with her natural and urban environments. Born in the Himalayas, educated in New Delhi and the UK, her Indo-British background informs a rich, cross-cultural perspective that shapes her artistic expression. Over the past thirteen years, Kavita has developed a unique, process-led approach inspired by her everyday walks. What began as a routine for movement and reflection evolved into a meditative ritual of discovery—photographing fragments of nature and urban detritus that are often overlooked: fallen leaves, flower petals, rusted wire, bark, seeds and such.  These spontaneous encounters are captured in situ using an iPhone, emphasizing immediacy and authenticity. Her works explore themes of transience, decay, renewal, and the quiet beauty found in the mundane. Through layering, erosion, and the interplay of natural elements like wind and water, she allows the materials to speak, echoing the impermanence of life. Her art resists fixed outcomes, favouring intuition, texture, and transformation.

Kavita’s multidisciplinary practice includes monotype printmaking, painting, photography, ceramics, assemblage, video, and the written word. She trained with established artists in the UK and Singapore and has exhibited widely in solo and group shows across Singapore, India, and the UK.  Her first India exhibition  in 2019 “No Number No Name’ was held at the VAG, India Habitat Centre curated by Alka Pande and opened by Kiran Nadar.  Her work is held in notable private collections worldwide.Through her visual storytelling, Kavita invites viewers to slow down, look more closely, and reconnect with the poetic fragments of the everyday.

ARTIST STATEMENT

Based in Singapore, Kavita Issar Batra draws inspiration from the unnoticed, often discarded fragments of nature and urban life encountered daily, both in the city and wherever her journeys take her. Born in the Himalayas and trained in the UK and Singapore, she lives between these three countries. Her practice responds to her surroundings through a blend of photography, printmaking, painting, and assemblage.

The works in this exhibition reflect her deep connections with both India and Singapore. ‘The Sun Worshippers’ and ‘Sunset Salsa’ celebrate the abundant, varied, and colourful flora of the tropics and express her gratitude for being able to witness them every day. Kavita notes how many plants seen in Singapore are also plentiful in India, such as the red hibiscus, sacred to Lord Ganesha, and the fragrant frangipani or plumeria flowers scattered across pavements; a recurring motif in many of her pieces. The five petals of the plumeria, often featured in her work, symbolize the five elements of the universe and the interconnectedness of all living things. In the natural debris; leaves, twigs, bits of string, or wires on the pavement,  Kavita often sees anthropomorphic forms or figurative shapes. In ‘In Monks Robes’, a series of monotype prints, such elements are transformed into monk-like figures, contemplating or journeying inward to understand themselves and the impermanence of existence. These works meditate on the transience of life and the dust of the universe we all emerge from and return to whether we sweep it away or choose to acknowledge it.

‘Couplet II of Ode to the Urban Indian Footpath’ is part of a series of works Kavita created in response to the distinctive tile shapes seen on footpaths and driveways throughout India and beyond. While walking in a quiet park in Delhi one morning, she noticed how these tiles began to evoke images of people teeming in city spaces — those living and working along the streets. For her, the footpath in India represents more than a pedestrian walkway; it is a site of human activity, resilience, and memory. Unlike the cleaner, more structured pavements of Singapore, Indian footpaths often tell a more complicated story, a place where people might sleep, sell goods, or attempt to carve out a living. To most people, footpaths may be just a way to stay safe from traffic. But for Kavita, they are also canvases where time, nature, and human activity converge. The sun, wind, and rain draw images upon them, leaving behind stories etched in dust and debris. These vignettes and the narratives they inspire form the emotional and conceptual core of her works. Her art becomes a response to these thoughts, memories, and fleeting moments, a way to transform the everyday into quiet contemplation.