Hatty Pedder’s latest body of work is a life-affirming celebration of India’s largest metropolis. In this city of contrasts and extremes where affluence and abject poverty sit side by side, the artist has set out to capture moments that are at times filled with kaleidoscopic vibrancy and others with mundane intimacy. Yet through her amazing sense of detail and ability to express a feeling through even just a quirky black line, every piece captures our imagination and invites us to relive the moment with her subjects.

As we are taken on this investigative journey through the streets and alleyways of Mumbai, the layers and complexities of the city’s many spiritual facets are exposed and explored.

But it is the artist’s fascination with the eccentricities of unlikely heroes and her desire to tell their stories that enlighten and engage. Anchored in the absurd, her satirical organic black line work expresses the human experience in a delightfully unpredictable way. Either alone or with a powerful mix of colour and collage. The artist’s inspired use of vivid acrylic backgrounds, extravagant wooden frames and gem collage perfectly mirror the ever-changing energy and character of one of the world’s most fascinating cities.

This body of work is intelligent, uplifting and full of unexpected wit. And as the French writer Jean de la Bruyere’s observes “when a work lifts your spirits and inspires bold and noble thoughts in you, do not look for any other standard to judge by; the work is good, the product of a master craftsman.”