Join Sahana Ramakrishnan at Fridman Gallery on Wednesday, August 6 at 6:30pm for a presentation on her recent experience with The Arctic Circle residency—a program based in the remote Svalbard archipelago, just 10 degrees from the North Pole.

Sahana will share underwater recordings of belugas, narwhals, and bearded seals, exploring Arctic ecology, the role of sea ice in global climate, noise pollution’s impact on marine life, and reflections on Svalbard’s landscape, geological time, and evolution.

This journey expands on Ramakrishnan’s deeply rooted practice, which draws from myth, science, and storytelling to explore how we relate to the “Other”—whether planetary bodies, animal kin, or the vastness of time. Working with oil and mixed media, she layers text, drawing, and paint to create surfaces rich with accumulated meaning. Influenced by South Asian painting traditions, particularly the Tanjore techniques passed down from her grandmother, she incorporates gold leaf and rhinestones to evoke scenes of reverence and transformation.

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