4 Profile


work. I am good with proportions, therefore, I have no difficulty in creating free-hand drawings on whatever scale is required.


AAN: It seems that keeping a sense of perspective is very difficult with free wall drawings of that scale. Is that so? PP: Before getting started, I need to understand the perspective, the distance, and the proportions. While the work is in progress, I go back- and-forth to view the piece from various distances before I can continue to work on the actual drawing. Most of the time, my large-wall drawings are based on small sketches, but in a very random way – as the sketches are not truly thought-out as clear ideas and remain as sketches. Tey may be clear ideas in terms of concept, like the figures or the elements I am using, but sometimes my wall-drawings end-up taking a different form during this process with unexpected associations with site specific objects or elements.


AAN: Do you still sketch on a daily basis? PP: Perhaps less so than previously, but when I have some ideas in my mind, I complete the sketches.


AAN: Do you also photograph things when you travel, or do you just use memory? PP: I actually do record a lot through photography, videos and interviews, but I also have some specific ‘rituals’, if you can call them that. I develop my own rituals with my reference point being local in order to get to know the context from the inside. What I mean is that the images in the photographs are explained to me by local people. For example, when I went to Colombia to visit the ‘Marmato’ gold mining, I was taking photographs of the mountains, getting an idea of the area, but then, I made my own interpretations based on the stories of the local people.


Broken Varaha, Museum of Contemporaray Art, Manila, charcoal, dry pastels, acrylic paint and terracotta sculptures, dimensions variable


Dustbowl in our hands, installation view,


Sao Paulo Biennial, 2014


AAN: Looking at your work, it is very clear that you are telling a story. What is your story? PP: Every time it is a different story. Sometimes, it is a comparison between the miners or the mining site itself –in particular, the working conditions of the miners. Tere are different types of stories from different worlds. Each story is multi-layered and is very much connected to the globalisation of mining activities that is happening now, or events that have happened in the past.


Te Resistance Movement (2017), charcoal and acrylic on canvas, about 8ft x 13 ft


AAN: Te human figure is at the centre of your work. Has it always been the case? PP: I would say that it began with the coal mining work, because I started using the character ‘the manager of the mine’ around 2011-12. I also used the same character in many drawings. I think it came about through my own research, the stories I was told, or those I witnessed around me.


AAN: Te manager of the mine is frequently featured in your work, is it a consistent image, or are there major differences between countries? PP: I would say that overall the features of the manager tend to be the same. Te differences are mainly visible in terms of costume, and of course, through the motifs and the metaphors that I use which are very diverse. When I was working in India, the manager’s head was depicted as house or a piece of land, sometimes it took the form of an abandoned mine. At other times, I would use a projector to run an animation through the manager’s head.


AAN: Initially, your work was mainly black and white. Lately, you have added touches of colour. Why? PP: Yes. Initially, I started work focusing on the issue of coal mining. Ten, I began to travel and visit different mines, which led to different colours in my work. Change came through research and the places I visited.


Te wide divergence of the cotton King_gin, charcoal and acrylic on canvas, 8 ft x 13 ft


AAN: You have grown-up surrounded by the mining industry. Is this why you have focused on mining and address these issues within your work? PP: It started in 2010 and 2011, when I was studying for my master’s degree. In addition, my work looks back at my own history and to all the conversations that have taken place about my work. Back then, it was not really about mining issues, but it was rather in relation to labour issues. At one point, my work was connected to the stories of coal mining, mainly through the Chilean mine disaster in 2010. In addition, there were also different accidents that happened in my home town that were not really covered by the media. Tese unfortunate events triggered my attention and made me turn towards this subject. Immediately, a lot of my old memories resurfaced that allowed me to process and include my own feelings in my work.


AAN: Are members of your family involved with coal mining? PP: My brother does work in the industry and has approximately nine more years in the field before he can retire. My brother-in-law, as well as many other relatives, are all involved with mining near Chandrapur, Central India.


After 100 proverbs, charcoal and water colour on paper, about 40 x 60 inches


ASIAN ART OCTOBER 2017


AAN: Tis subject is a rather dark subject. Were you concerned that dealing with this subject matter, there would be too much reality in your work for the audience? PP: Yes, I did think that it may be too dark, but it is also part of our life. We have to look at these concerns and these issues. When I start to compare the mining conditions in different countries with the ones in India, I feel that there are a lot of differences, especially when it comes to the condition of the abandoned mines. In India, there are a lot of abandoned mines and leftover land with which we have to deal. On the other hand, we need to be aware that mining is not going to disappear. Te government will never stop the mining, or the excavations, so we


have to think about how to balance both approaches.


AAN: Do you feel that being away from home you can address the subject of mining in your work easier, as it is clearly a close and emotional for you? PP: I now have a certain emotional and physical distance from my home town, but at the same time, when I speak with the local people, they are very eager to talk about their condition and share their experiences, as no one is going to highlight their situation, all the more so as in my hometown there is a language barrier – they speak a regional language. I am connected with local people through a collective which in English would be called ‘Seven Colours’, or ‘Rainbow’. Tere are seven people in this group, from farmers to coal miners and teachers. I feel strongly that there is a necessity and need to talk about all these issues related to coal mining.


AAN: You became well known in the contemporary art world for your large scale drawings. Do you paint? PP: I work according to the context, according to whatever ideas I have. If I want to explore them, I take whatever material, medium, or surface that I feel would be appropriate. I am always looking at the possibilities of drawing as I am also creating three- dimensional forms with my drawing.


AAN: You have completed a number of drawings that fill-up entire rooms. Is the fact of creating an immersive work also a key aspect to your work? PP: Absolutely. Tere is a connection between all the works and each work is connected to another. Tis is the case in the work that talks about abandoned mines entitled Flies never infest an egg without cracks. Sometimes I work with certain aspects of the subject, taking them as a source of inspiration. I think it is important to have this content, for example, the work I showed at Art Basel this year was an extension of my previous work.


AAN: You just mentioned a topic that is important to you: abandoned mines. Is there any hope to manage them intelligently? PP: Abandoned mines represent a difficult challenge, because neither the government nor the company want to care of these abandoned sites. Even if


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