Interview: Meena Sansanwal On Her Inner Cosmology, Feminine Divinity, And The Trance Of Creation

Step inside Sanya Malik’s Black Cube Gallery this January and you will quickly realise that Divine Manifestation is not the sort of exhibition one merely views. It is encountered, collided with, and possibly spiritually rearranged. Meena Sansanwal, born in 1971 and studied at the Delhi College of Art where she completed her graduation in 1994 and post graduation in painting in 1997, does not so much hang art on walls as she unleashes an entire cosmology, one populated by women who are mountains, goddesses who are landscapes, and bodies that appear to have swallowed the universe whole and decided to redecorate. Across nearly a decade of paintings, paper mache sculptures, and mixed media works of glorious intent, Sansanwal constructs a world where the feminine is not decorative or deferential but elemental, catalytic, and magnificently in charge.

This is art born in the subconscious engine room, ferried through trance like states, and delivered with unapologetic colour and symbolic bravado. Here, woman is Shakti and Prakriti, mandala and sanctuary, stairway and fertile ground, at once earthly and divine, mythic and vividly alive. In a rare and revealing moment, Outlook Luxe had a tête à tête with Meena Sansanwal ahead of the show, unpacking the inner cosmology that fuels her practice. Divine Manifestation runs from 7 to 22 January 2026 at Black Cube Gallery, G12A Hauz Khas, New Delhi, and is open Tuesday to Saturday from 12 to 6 pm.

Divine Manifestation presents your work as an entire cosmology rather than a series of individual artworks. When did you first begin to sense that your practice was evolving into a universe of its own?

Meena Sansanwal: I have carried the ethereal form of a woman from the past. I remembered some instances of my past life. As a small child I used to talk about the woman form as a bride and simultaneously, sketched that form of my mind at an incredibly early age. It was the art that healed me in my childhood days. Even now I try to discover and rediscover myself through my art process, which is creative and cathartic. I relate my mind with the universe. So, I always say “Creativity has no limits. It is infinite like the universe.” For this, I use active imagination and meditation for these polymorphic, biomorphic and anthropomorphic forms formations of my mind. When I started transforming my artworks from one phase to another, I realised, that it is evolving into a universe and worked naturally, to capture the essence. There was an urge to experiment and explore, in terms of form and concept after creating many oils on canvases. In the year 2016, I started my art practice with papermache technique, to satisfy my creative urge. So, to develop forms in 3 dimension has given more opportunity, to explore in terms of form.

 

You describe your creative process as a cathartic bridge between the conscious, subconscious, and unconscious mind. What signals the moment when an internal form is ready to cross that bridge and become visible on canvas or in sculpture?

MS: The unknown, hidden and the mystic part unfolds, and I call it as centre one. It is captured through the symmetry I use for my compositions. The centre is the point from where everything begins and divided it into two parts. I call them two energies integrating into one and then it is projected on the canvas. Sculptures are the extension of the 2-dimensional vision of sketches and acrylic on canvas into 3 dimensional. It further unfolds more mystery as I am seeing a form which is complete in itself with, all the dimensions present within one structure. My forms formations are multi dimensional and has been captured through active imagination and play. Thus, fluid forms have appeared over the years.

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The female form is central to your work, yet it transcends portraiture or identity politics. How do you define this feminine presence—as Shakti, Prakriti, or something even more fluid and unnamed?

MS: If we see in nature everything is energy, frequency and vibration. It is very important how we relate to it that connects us to the entire cosmos. When I see a small flower, the whole universe is present inside it, to flourish beautifully, in this world full of chaos. Through the elements of nature, I have learnt so many lessons of life. They are so pure, that I must brood away for creativity to find the inner beauty through exploring my inner being and vision. Prakriti is the Mother Nature with endless bounties present within herself to serve humanity. She is the Shakti containing, both the energies, feminine and masculine present within herself. If we comprehend with this fact, then we can understand the real essence of the complete woman, as depicted in mythology as the goddess Durga. She is the reason for creation. Her creativity can open many allegories of the mind and matter that can be narrated to many generations. A yogini to complete her substantial self. Thus, I call the woman as the mundane and the transcendental form. She is soft but strong, perfect but imperfect at the same time that makes her even more beautiful, intelligent and unapologetically bold. Calm but ferocious, a warrior but a mother like Manikarnika.

In many of your works, the female body transforms into a landscape, a sanctuary, or a cosmic mandala. What draws you to this fusion of body and cosmos, and how does it reflect your understanding of existence?

MS: It is related to the mind and matter. The body is a vessel, and life is the god particle where the soul rests in three states of mind, conscious, subconscious and unconscious. It is invisible, to make it tangible, I paint. So, art is a powerful medium of expression. This imagery comes subconsciously through the process of catharsis. It is a trance like state when things start taking shape and shapes into forms. These forms compel me to feel as if I been to these places before. It is some connection I feel with the past present and futuristic states of mind. Sometimes, it is like an eternal feeling, as if it is going on and on, so the cosmic patterns, mandala has appeared with no beginning and end. “In the doctrine of transcendental idealism, Kant argued that space and time are mere “forms of intuition” that structure all experiences, and that the objects of experience are mere “appearances”.

You explore the maiden, mother, and sage as archetypal forms drawn from mythology and Jungian psychology. Do these figures emerge intuitively, or are they consciously woven into your compositions?

MS: It has emerged intuitively through the fantastic creature horse. I call them adorable rhythmic desirable forms in nature’s patterns. So they are polymorphic, biomorphic and anthropomorphic forms of my mind because of the play and universal connection, I add with the human form. Thus, I have captured the women form in three stages of life the maiden, the mother and the sage. Three forms of woman in the work titled “Triple Goddess – The Sacred Bond” has been captured subconsciously tapping the unconscious self, through the preliminary sketches drawn in the sketchbook. Taking the form further while painting it, I have discovered many symbolic meaning to these three woman form. They are the horse riders controlling the two aspects of the human nature. According to Carl Jung, the triple goddess archetype is a modern, synthetic concept that draws-on ancient myths and Carl Jung’s theory of the collective unconscious.

Animal forms, biomorphic shapes, and fantastical companions appear repeatedly in your work. What role do these mythic creatures play within your symbolic theatre of the mind?

MS: Horses and Owls are the narrators in my artworks, unfolding the unknown through me as a tool. Horses are rhythmic fantastic forms in nature’s patterns. Their union with man and nature is that of a spiritual vibration. Self discovery through the form of horses is that of an enjoyment exploration and experimentation. Horses are great healers and stress busters because of their connection with the human understanding. Horses are telepathic spiritual beings. They can feel hear and sense the human mind. They are the true companions in the given universe of space and time. Polymorphic, biomorphic and Anthropomorphic Horses here, are sophisticated and majestic creatures, that compels me to open the mystery and allegory of the subconscious mind, that I often call it as a bridge in between the unconscious and conscious self to build a deeper opinion.

The owl as cradle for the two horses in reflection. An abode of protection, security and comfort. This fantastic form of the mind leads me to explore further into its character. According to the allegory of my mind, Owls are the keepers of the night and the universe for these two horses. Cradles as a metaphor of new beginnings of life and innocence of these mindful forms of expressions. Human connection with the owl form added to the expression of an old and famous saying “As wise as an Owl”.

You often speak of entering a “trance-like state” while creating. Can you describe this state, and how it differs from ordinary acts of making or thinking?

MS: I listen to music and with sound I elevate my emotions and-expressions, while being into my art process. This is how; I reach to the trance like state. It is when the entire process becomes one focus of attention. Seeing and painting, observing and absorbing, detaching and attaching, with what is required to perceive and conceive through the forms to be in the final stage. So, it is the constant flow of energy which compels me to take certain action. Medium, material and technique become one with the process of creation. Concept and technique should compliment each other for the complete expression to make it tangible.

Your work draws deeply from Indian cultural motifs, folk traditions, and popular illustration styles, yet feels distinctly contemporary. How do you navigate the dialogue between tradition and the present moment?

MS: Yes! I have a deep interest in Indian art and aesthetics. Six limbs of art and rasa theory is also extremely inspiring to develop the thought process. I think this is the reason why, I am drawn towards the Indian cultural motifs, folk traditions and popular illustration styles. Since childhood I have enjoyed watching Indian classical dances like Odissi, Bharatnatyam. If we pick up these elements straight from a source or a reference it is a copy. I make a relationship with my inner being to understand who am I? and how I relate to these Indian elements. I compel myself to reach a state of self realisation so that forms appear in an organic fashion with a reason and an enquiry for the self reflection and discovery. I think it is embedded in the mind which is a deep reflection of the collective unconscious self. Art and aesthetics are important for the artistic minds. s is the reason why the forms appears in a contemporary style even if it is a form of the Goddess Durga or Bodhisatva from Hindu and Buddhist culture.

Symmetry, repetition, and reflection recur as visual strategies in your work. Do these patterns mirror mental states, meditative rhythms, or the cyclical nature of time itself?

MS: I enjoy these elements of compositional strategy by using symmetry, repetition and reflection. Yes! These patterns mirror the mental states, meditative rhythms and cyclical nature of time. Everything starts from my mind. I then use my centre one to divide myself into two parts, which I call as feminine and masculine energies integrating into one at the centre, with vivid forms formations, related to the self reflection and self discovery by letting, the subconscious, to unfolds the mysteries related, with mythology as the collective unconscious.

Finally, if your art is a portal into what you call “the eternal garden of the mind,” what is the first thing you hope a viewer carries with them after stepping back into the everyday world?

MS: I would like the viewers to take back the aura and the energy of my works as the vivid forms’ formations of the womanhood as the mundane and the transcendental form. I want them to take back the symbolic and intuitive interpretation of my visual imagination. The discovery through self reflection related to the collective memories, we share as humanity.