Art Mandai 2020 used this image of Saaz Aggarwal to promote the event in mainstream Pune media. The clipping shown here appeared in Times of India's Pune Times on 24 January 2020.

When the theme is harvest, the motifs are grain, fish, eggs, fruit, flowers and leaves. But also lice, snakes and blessings. And the urgent need to support farmers.

The Art Mandai group was initiated by artist Gauri Gandhi to reclaim public spaces, to integrate with local communities, and to bring art to those who may never consider visiting a gallery. A group of Pune artists sell their wares, low-priced original art, along with the vegetable and fruit vendors of Pune's historic Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Mandai.

The Velvet Underground’s 1967 debut album had a controversial cover by Andy Warhol: the image of a banana with a “Peel Slowly And See” instruction. The peel was a sticker that revealed a flesh-coloured fruit beneath. This art work presents a pale imitation of Warhol’s banana, embellished with crotchet flowers created from audio cassette tape.

This work was part of an exhibition at Art2Day Gallery, Pune, on the occasion of Women’s Day 8 March 2017. Click the image to read more. Acrylic on discarded plastic pipe, 2017. Dimensions: diameter 2” x height 2’. For sale. Rs12,000.

This work was part of an exhibition at Art2Day Gallery, Pune, on the occasion of Women’s Day 8 March 2017. I arranged a set of selfies into a grid on the lines of a ‘wanted’ poster and gave each one it’s own character with pen and paint graffiti. Ink and paint graffiti on ivory card printout. Dimensions: A3 size. For sale. Rs12,000.

A series of limited-edition signed bookmarks with a poem and the image of a roadside stone of the same name. For sale Rs200.

Acrylic and beads on roadside stone. Jan 2017. Collection of Ashwini Dasgupta.

For the Pune Biennale in January 2017, the Art Mandai group chose the theme Merawala Blue. I extended my roadside-stone concept to the deep blue sea and up came Today’s Catch. Acrylic on roadside stone, 2017. Dimensions: Basket 10" diameter, stones vary. For sale. Rs6000.

Limited edition signed placemat, one of a set of six. A Bombay Cliché image, inset with a poem written to fit the mood of the Mumbai apartment block represented, created for Art Mandai 2017.

I decided to sell my produce in small baskets made in Mandai itself, and integrate with the local hereditary vendors. Picking up roadside stones and applying acrylic paints, I was surprised and intrigued to see faces gazing placidly back at me. Seen here interacting with young visitors at Art Mandai on 26 Jan 2016.

Acrylic on stone.

Acrylic on stone. Collection of Udaya Manjeshwar.

Acrylic on stone.