Baiju Parthan’s collected body of work stands as a multimedia bricolage of his diverse scholastic and professional background. Trained in botany, illustration, painting, computer science, engineering and comparative mythology, Parthan’s artistic scope inhabits multiple worlds.

In the Milljunction series, Parthan’s palette of black, white and sepia tones recalls the iconic vintage Bollywood posters of his youth, and the photorealistic tradition of the 1960s and 70s. Superimposed with ASCII code, however, these images become icons of a different sort. Under Parthan’s influence, the ASCII character-encoding scheme – that is, the American Standard Code for Information Interchange, originally developed as telegraphic code – transforms into an existential commentary that asks the question, “What is the significance of mythic vocabulary, when modern icons are nothing but virtual symbols of themselves?”

Born in Kerala in 1956, Baiju Parthan studied Painting from 1978-83 at Goa College of Art and has a Master’s degree in Philosophy from The University of Mumbai. He has participated in group and solo exhibitions worldwide, including Galerie Christian Hosp, Austria 2008; Anant Gallery, New Delhi 2006 and 2007; Aicon Gallery, New York 2005 and 2008; and the Ninth Asian Bienniale, Dhaka 1999. The artist currently lives and works in Mumbai, India. This will be the artist’s first solo exhibition with Aicon Gallery.