Purnaa Deb

Purnaa Deb, originally from Kolkata, India, is now an artist based in Johannesburg. She explores identity by examining how the self interacts with society, focusing on social, political, and personal dynamics. Her art is largely autobiographical, drawing inspiration from both her present experiences and everyday memories that have significantly shaped her values and beliefs. Since 2006, Purnaa has specialized in printmaking, particularly intaglio and relief methods. She finds the process of mark-making and transferring images to new surfaces deeply engaging, as it mirrors how she imprints her daily experiences and memories into her thoughts, allowing these fragments to transform over time.

Purnaa Deb was born and raised in Kolkata India but is now a Johannesburg-based artist. She received her Master of Fine Arts in 2012 with a specialty in Printmaking from Rabindra Bharati University, India. She was awarded a fellowship in 2014 and spent a year in the Printmaking department of National Lalit Kala Academy (by Government of India) whilst participating in several group exhibitions and community-based art activities. In addition, the artist spent time as an arts educator within different educational arenas to teach alternative methods of mark-making and creative practice. Purnaa looks at identity through the lens of the relationship between self and society, exploring the interface between the social, political, and personal. Her works are autobiographical in nature, and she draws her imagery from her everyday life – both current and memories of the prosaic which profoundly impacted her values and belief system and delineated her identity. Printmaking since 2006, Purnaa mainly enjoys intaglio and relief techniques. She is fascinated by the process of making marks and then transforming them onto another surface, relating to imprinting her daily life experience/memories into my thoughts, allowing the fragments to evolve. Besides participating in several group exhibitions and community-based art activities, Purnaa has been working as an art educator and engaged in different schools and institutions, teaching different methods of arts and creative practice using interactive communicating tools. The artist moved to Johannesburg, South Africa in 2015 and worked as an intern at David Krut Projects, Johannesburg, where she received the professional printmaking studio experience that elevated her overall technical knowledge. Purnaa also worked as a printmaking teacher at Artist Proof Studios, Johannesburg from 2017, providing basic understanding and training in different printmaking technics to the students. Purnaa is committed to her printmaking practice and has participated in several group shows and art fairs as a fellow member of The Printing Girls since 2018. Her artworks have been acquired for international collections and one of her pieces featured in the comic magazine published by the Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany in 2015. In 2021, Purnaa was awarded the Printmaking Residency with the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown/ Makhanda.