Biography
Deepikah RB (b. 1985) is an Indian interdisciplinary artist based in Toronto. Shegraduated from OCAD University with an MFA in interdisciplinary arts. Shecreates speculative installations about ecology, climate crisis, and perceptionin collaboration with materials like algae, plants, gelatine, and more thanhumans. She recently won the second prize in the visual arts category at the ScarbroughArts Annual Juried show 2024. Her thesis show, "a place to fallapart," was exhibited at Ignite Gallery in April 2024. Deepikah was partof the juried shows at The Propeller Gallery and the Geary Art Crawl 2024(Toronto) and has exhibited across Canada, India, & CDMX. She was alsoselected to present her work at Salon Acme in Mexico City in February 2025.
Artist Statement
My work delves into the intersections of nature, motherhood, and hope, inviting viewers to contemplate our interconnectedness within the environment and with critters. Drawing from personal experiences as an Indian woman and mother navigating ecological and societal challenges, my art explores themes of care, sustainability, and speculative futures.
My thesis exhibition 'a place to fall apart' embodied a world where human and non-human entities coexisted and collaborated. Using a range of materials like algae, kombucha, and found objects, I craft artworks that challenge traditional notions of artmaking and consumption. Through tentacular spontaneity—a methodology of deep listening through intuition, feeling, play, and embracing Haraway's ideas about penetrable systems—I engage with materials as living entities, emphasizing their agency and interconnectedness within larger ecosystems.
Central to my practice is the reclamation of pleasure and joy in art, inspired by Audre Lorde's concept of the erotic as a source of power. By incorporating feminist and ecofeminist ideologies, I envision a future where technology, care, and empathy converge to foster new narratives of resilience and healing.
I want to expand my research with biomaterials that encourage viewers to reconsider their relationship with nature, motherhood, and the potential for collaborative futures in the face of ecological crises. This involves continuously decentering anthropocentric narratives and aligning with the agencies of our non-human friends. Embracing interconnectedness, joy, and care as guiding principles for a more inclusive and sustainable world.
CV
DEEPIKAH R BHARDWAJ
E: deepikah@gmail.com, deepikahb@ocadu.ca W: www.deepikah.com Insta: @deepikah
PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY
Deepikah (She/Her) is an Indianinterdisciplinary artist living in Tkaronto (Toronto), Canada. She createsinstallations and paintings featuring more-than-human entities throughspeculative art to explore matters related to sustainability, ecology, andhealing. She has exhibited across Canada, India, and Mexico.
EDUCATION HISTORY
2022-27
Masters in Fine Arts(MFA) InterdisciplinaryMaster’s in Art Media and Design – OCAD University,Toronto, Canada
2003-07
B.A.(H), CommunicationDesign, Pearl Academy & NTU, New Delhi, India
YEARS ACTIVE IN TORONTO
Sept 2022 – now
WORKSHOPS / INSTRUCTOR
2025
Marker/Grader for Childhood Families and Social Change, OCAD Uni., Toronto ON
Teaching Assistant for Professional Practices, OCAD University, Toronto ON
2024
Teaching Assistant for Professional Practices, OCAD University, Toronto ON
Sustainable Signage Workshop, Workshop Facilitator, Graduate Gallery, OCAD University, Toronto ON
Workshop on Collaborative mark making with Waldorf Academy, Grade 3, Toronto ON
2023
Grow your own Algae cultures, Workshop Facilitator, Life studies Lab, OCAD University, Toronto ON]
AWARDS, GRANTS & RESIDENCIES
2025
Selected Resident Artist at Doris Mccarthy Fool’s paradise
Selected Artistfor Salon Acme 2025, Mexico City, Mexico
2024
ExhibitionAssistance Award, Ontario Arts Council,
2nd prize winner atSpeculative: Skaṝ-broügĥ, Scarborough Arts' 39th Annual Juried Exhibition (VisualArts), Nov 2024
Recipients of the2024 Toronto Outdoor Art Fair Career Launcher by CEAD, OCAD U
2023
Mothra,Artist Parent Residency, Artscape Gibraltar Point, Toronto
The Queeratorial Experiment by Tony Macarena, CDMX, Mexico.
2022
OntarioGraduate Scholarship Grant.
CONFERENCES & PUBLIC SPEAKING Presentations
2025
ArtistTalk, Net Positive Talks at DesignTO
2024
Panelist, TentacularSpontaneity and Play at UAAC—Further Afield with Katie Lawson, WesternUniversity, London, ON
Panelist for "Touching,Feeling, Dreaming: Fun and Play in Material Explorations," The F-Word: Fun, Agency, and Creativity as a Life Ethic (CADN Conference 2024), OCAD University
Guest Speaker, Sustainability Community of Practice,FCDC at OCAD (online)
PROFICIENCY
• Bioplastics and material research
• Installation art, Bio Art with more thanhuman collaborations
• Thinking through making
• Critical & Systems Thinking
• Projection mapping
• Exhibition & signage design
• Sustainable art practices
• Typography & design
ART EXHIBITIONS
2025
P00rna-Simulations of the whole, Open call artist, Salon Acme 2025, Mexico City
Anxious yet familiar world, group show, Ignite gallery, OCAD University
2024
a place to fall apart, Scarbrough Arts Annual Juried Exhibition, Nov 2024. Cedar Ridge Creative Centre,Toronto.
Poorna, Simulations ofthe whole at The Propeller Gallery, Oct 2024
Ashthapadma – TheEight Legged at The Geary Art Crawl 2024, Toronto
a place to fall apart.MFA Thesis Show for Interdisciplinary Master’s in Art Media and Design. April2024, Ignite Gallery, OCAD University.
Reignite & Reinvent by OCAD U Re-Use & ODESI. February 2024.
La Obra Es de Quienla planta (A Plant’s Oeuvre), February 2024. CDMX, Mexico
2023
Gelling at Support deGaspe, Montreal. 2023
Nurture In Death at East EndArts For Nuit Blanche 2023.
The Aliens Aren’t Coming at Artist and Organizer. GroupExhibition. OCAD University.
Too Big To Fail.Artist and Organizer. Group exhibition. OCAD University.
2022
The Incomplete:Speculative Fragments. Great Hall, OCAD University.
2021-24 Rest YourThoughts Here. Artist & Curator, The Gender Chronicles with SandboxCollective. April 2021. Bangalore, India
VOLUNTEER WORK
Toronto Biennial 2024 – Gallery attendant.
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