Abstract This research explores relational painting as a mode of inquiry through which knowledge and trust emerge in encounters between artist and participants, rather than approaching portraiture as representation alone. Painting is understood as a reciprocal practice shaped through shared time, attentive presence, and a determination among all parties to continue the work.
As the painter looks, the sitter looks back. Both engage in a reciprocal process of encountering one another. We recognize ourselves in the other and the other in ourselves—a process of recognition and identification between artist and sitter (Schuster, 2019). The resulting portrait is neither solely the artist’s nor the subject’s but both, producing something new (Schuster, 2019). It becomes a relational space where participants actively shape how they are seen, creating images that reflect lived experience while foregrounding agency.
Working within the socially and economically complex environment of a brothel in Kolkata, painting sessions are embedded in the rhythms of daily life—conversations, domestic activities, social interactions, and the material surroundings that shape lives. Through sustained engagement, the practice explores how individuals navigate this environment and express agency through gesture, posture, and self-presentation.
The project draws on Sarah Pink’s formulation of sensory ethnography, particularly her emphasis on knowledge as embodied and situated. Painting unfolds through mutual attention, allowing insights to emerge through shared experience rather than detached analysis.
Central to the work is the recognition that creative processes in complex contexts require collective effort. Practical challenges, including navigating resources and power structures, are addressed by drawing on the knowledge of everyone involved. Through ongoing problem-solving, relationships deepen and trust develops through repeated interaction and a shared commitment to sustaining the work.