Devi Seetharam’s work is shaped by histories, geographies, and the social fabric of diverse societies, revealing subtleties and harmonies within cultures that transcend borders. These influences inform a visual language that pairs meticulous process with thematic inquiry, uncovering quiet tensions, memories, and negotiations embedded within spaces. Her paintings invite viewers to read space as both physical and cultural terrain.

Devi Seetharam’s, Brothers, Fathers and Uncles series, reflects on the way in which patriarchy is woven into India’s social fabric through daily gatherings of men. Over time, she has observed how male bonding in all spaces; whether at home or at tea stalls, rallies, or temples, creates an unspoken choreography of entitlement. Dressed in the white and gold mundu (dhoti), these men move, linger, and belong with ease in spaces that often omit women.

Seetharam reorganises such moments from her own photo archives, giving form to this enduring social order. The men appear suspended in time, where seasons pass, flowers wilt, yet the postures remain.

Through her layered and reductive technique, Seetharam painstakingly sands away accumulated layers of paint to reveal the mundu in raw canvas beneath, transforming the surface into a site of excavation. It unearths a persistent truth - gestures of masculinity and belonging are not fleeting performances but deeply embedded patterns; quietly rehearsed, rarely questioned, and carried forward through generations.

Artworks from the Brothers, Fathers and Uncles series are held in collections at the V&A Museum, London, the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Australia, the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, India and in 2022, appeared at the 5th Kochi-Muziris Biennale, curated by Shubigi Rao.