If you recognise that momentary hush of sound that precedes the hiss of falling rain during the monsoons in the city, you might understand Claire Baker’s thoughts. The Los Angeles-born artist is currently enjoying the arrival of the rains in our home state. “The season brings vitality to earth. The creatures emerge, and suddenly, there is an explosion of sounds,” the artist explains. She transfers these emotions, sounds and visual experiences to her canvas in the exhibition, Monsoon, Mausam, that opens at Project 88 in Colaba today.

Claire Baker utilises natural pigments in her art

Baker arrived in the city in 2022, following her partner to India. Before that, she was already chasing the monsoons in the deserts in New Mexico. “I always choose places based on personal relationships,” she shares. Hosted by a friend of the family in the Western Ghats, she created the series that captures the ‘immersive’ nature of Maharashtra’s monsoon over the last few years. “I feel in tune with all of nature, not just the monsoon. Hence, the term Mausam [season/weather]. Connecting with vitality  is a fundamental part of the painting experience,” she adds.