Par Nair

Exhibition Essay by Anik Glaude

Discovering Par Nair’s landscape paintings feels like stepping into a sun‑drenched oasis. Walls of bright pinks and oranges create a radiant backdrop for lush flora rendered in rich greens and yellows. Signs of habitation quietly anchor these spaces: a rain barrel tucked beside a stairway, pieces of clothing drying in the heat. Yet the warmth extends beyond climate or colour. These paintings evoke not only tropical environments but also a sense of care, tending, and intimacy—an attentiveness to nature that feels deeply personal.

Inspired by photographs and memories of the artist’s childhood home in Kerala (India), these works are not meant as perfectly rendered depictions of place. Instead, they present a reimagined space, a testament to how memories form through accumulation and time. Each canvas offers a different vantage point into the garden—a view from a bedroom, a verandah, or a kitchen window. These perspectives serve a dual purpose: they provide a personal glimpse into the artist’s past while also offering a conceptual framework. The garden is tended by Nair’s mother and grandmother, who plant and harvest its fruits. By centering what they have nurtured, the artist reframes their roles as women and caregivers, opening possibilities beyond the confines of tradition.

This attention to the often invisible and underappreciated labour of women extends into Nair’s portraits. Here, candid interior scenes—also based on historical photographs—are framed through a distinctly female lens. Across these canvases, women gather to prepare a meal, their laughter carrying across the room. In another, two figures rest on a couch, lost in thought. In a third, two young women stand shoulder to shoulder, quietly holding each other up. Together, these scenes pay tribute to the artist’s ancestral and cultural roots, honouring the everyday gestures of care and solidarity that pass from one generation to the next. For Nair, these paintings do not simply look back; they also dream forward, proposing diasporic futures rooted in care, persistence, and imagination.