Collection: Hemlata Pradhan

A collection of editioned archival pigment prints of watercolour paintings by Hemlata Pradhan. About the artist:

Hemlata Pradhan (b. 1974), Kalimpong, West Bengal, India.

I was inspired to paint flowers and plants ever since I was 12, when I first saw my father, Mr. Udai C. Pradhan’s sketches for his books on Indian Orchids. From a young child’s hobby turning into passion and now as a career as an artist, it has been about 25 years since I first started out. Through this magnificent, but often very difficult journey, I found myself and purpose in life. Being with plants and nature has not only filled me with hope, joy and contentment but most of all it has instilled in me a sense of responsibility towards the environment.

The ever increasing human population and global consumption have lead to severe destruction of nature through the clearing of forests for building houses and growing food crops. Many plants like orchids and other rare species which thrive as epiphytes on forest trees are destroyed along with them. The ground flora also suffers as a result of habitat destruction. The complex web of life in the Himalayas and elsewhere in India is fast disappearing. My aim is to highlight the Indo-Himalayan orchids and other plants in nature that we are unwittingly losing.