Indira Freitas Johnson

God Bless America
ink drawing, stitched and embroidered organza and other fabric, text

Balance Beam
mixed media ceramic

I am an artist and cultural worker from India, who has lived and worked in the Chicago area for over twenty years while maintaining close ties with India. The influences of my mother, a social activist and my father, an artist and a follower of Gandhi have been predominant in my life and art, where I continue to deal with the same issues that have preoccupied me for the last two decades – the growth towards a spiritual existence as an individual and as part of the human continuum.

Much of my inspiration comes from transitory, ritualistic Indian folk art practices which I’ve used to address issues of labor, domestic violence, nonviolence and health education, adapting them to operate within contemporary experiences thus evolving a hybrid version of the original traditions. As a result, my work has always been informed by my experience of life in both, the US and India.

The process of spiritual growth has been an ongoing preoccupation for me, especially as it relates to working in the community. I have found that in the search for a personal truth one discovers universal truths that bind us to each other to the past and to future generations.

© Indira Freitas Johnson