Monica Rani Rudhar is an artist working on Gadigal Land across video, performance and sculpture. Born to Indian and Romanian migrant parents, her work speaks to longing and loss as she navigates the cultural disconnection that stems from the complexities of her multi-racial ethnicity. Her work is delicately personal and takes the shape of a restorative autobiographical archive that seeks to record her own histories where these stories can exist permanently, unlike those that have been passed down orally from her family which remain fragmented. Her practice attempts to restore familial histories, traditions and rituals that have been dispersed by migration and draws on the labor required to move passed the barriers that stand in the way of reforging these connections.
Monica graduated from UNSW Art and Design (Honours) in 2021, and has exhibited at various spaces including Pompom Galarie, Verge Gallery, Pari and Tiles Lewisham. She recently performed at Carriageworks as part of Live Dreams: Distance, curated by Talia Smith and produced by Performance Space as part of Vivid Sydney 2022. She was also commissioned by Casula Powerhosue Arts Centre for a new work as part of ‘Looking at Gold’ curated by Luke Létourneau which opened in October 2022, and has been a finalist in the Blake Prize in 2021 and 2022.
