Leena Kejriwal

Biography

Leena Kejriwal (Kolkata) is a photographer and artist based in Mumbai and Kolkata,  Post grad diplomas in Advertising & Photography, Kolkata, and Public Art at the School of Visual Arts, New York. Her recent exhibitions:

  • 2015: MISSING Public Art Campaign (Ongoing);
  • 2014: MISSING Public Art Project, commissioned by JSW, at the India Art Fair, New Delhi; 
  • 2012: When Violence Becomes Decadent at Berlin/Weimar;
  • 2011: Entropic Sites curated by Shaheen Merali, Shrine Empire gallery, New Delhi;
  • 2011:  I Saw That Which Remained Unseen, curated by Shaheen Merali, Azad Gallery, Tehran, Iran;
  • 2010: East City: Kolkata before the campaign, curated by Shaheen Merali, Birla Academy Kolkata;
  • 2009: Babu Bibi Series, part of the South East Asian Art Spring Auction, Sotheby’s;
  • 2006: On the Streets Of Paris, pan India exhibition resulting from the ‘Artist in Residence program’  by the Ministry of France, in France. Touring shows in Trivandrum, Madras, Pune, Bhopal, Hyderabad, Pondicherry, Mumbai, Delhi, Chandigarh, and Kolkata;
  • 2004: A Life of its Own-Visuals, the Oxford Bookstore Gallery, Kolkata & Mumbai;
  • 2003: A Still Symphony – Visuals, the India International Centre, New Delhi; 
  • 2003: Kalikatha – Through the Lens, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi. 

Overview

Leena Kejriwal’s art is deeply tied to social activism, focusing on human rights and women’s issues. She uses diverse mediums like photography, stencils, electronic games, and public art to create powerful visual narratives that drive awareness and advocate for change. Her notable project, The Missing Project, combats sex trafficking and slavery through art and interactive technology. The Missing Silhouette, a black profile of a young girl, appears in urban spaces and digital platforms, highlighting the issue of missing girls and urging action. Inspired by early 20th-century propaganda art, Kejriwal’s installations evoke empathy and a sense of loss, pushing viewers to challenge societal injustices. Her art is a tool for raising awareness and inspiring social change.

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Leena
Kejriwal

Your work often blurs the lines between photography, installation art, and storytelling. How do you choose the medium for a particular project, and what do you aim to convey through that choice? 

My medium choices are driven by the message I want to convey. Photography captures the beauty and reality around me. Installations allowed me to explore complexity and hidden issues. The Missing Girl silhouette, born from those installations, became a pure drop of art, taking various forms to engage different audiences.

What was the process of building the MISSING stencil?

From 2010, I created complex installations addressing unseen issues. At some point I realised, I really wanted to create some work which actually engaged with anybody and everybody. Not just people who entered a gallery space. Keeping that in mind – while mentoring girls in red light districts, the idea of a silhouette, specifically of a girl, emerged. Inspired by their strength and resilience, I captured a girl’s form, which became the Missing Girl silhouette.

What do you see yourself working on for the next 5 years?

I see myself continuing The Missing project with more immersive pieces and photography projects. Public awareness is crucial, but we also have systematic prevention programs through the Missing Link Trust that I’m hoping to focus more on.

Which is the art piece that has moved you the most? And how?

It’s actually a memorial about the burning of books by the Nazis in Berlin. This public artwork is in a square, and it represents how the Nazis burned all the books. One artist was commissioned to create a memorial for this book burning event. 

You’re in the middle of a square with glass, and underneath, you see an underground room. You’re supposed to put your nose to the glass to see an empty bookshelf – a memorial to the 20,000 books the Nazis burned in flames. 

This piece by Israeli artist Micha Ullman, called the Library Memorial, created an emotion within me that has never left. Just thinking about it still gives me chills. These powerful emotional engagements with issues, memories, and memorials leave a lasting impression on me, and I hope to create more art like this in the future.

 

“My aim is to move people with what I'm saying, and engage them with the issues.”

Who would you take to be one of your biggest teachers/ role-models? Who are you most influenced by? 

Lines and their power have always been my biggest teachers. Nandlal Bose’s quote about finding energy within the lines inspires me to pursue more than the visual. Graphic art’s ability to transcend barriers inspires me, like Milton Glaser’s “I Love New York” campaign. Artists like Olafur Eliasson, who create immersive and thought-provoking experiences, also move me.

It’s always about the energy, vibrancy or the life within the frame which, if you feel or tap into, gets at some point, reflected into what you’re showing.

“Success is art that moves, engages, and enriches people - people across backgrounds.”

As an artist and activist, what message or impact do you hope to leave on future generations through your creative endeavours?

I never really set out to leave any impact or message for the future generation. My aim is to move people with what I’m saying, and engage them with the issues. The Missing Public Art Project specifically used public engagement as its core purpose.

Who introduced you to Dadaism propaganda? What about it inspired you most?

As a self-taught artist, I was drawn to Dadaism’s visually impactful and energy-filled forms. Later, I realised it aligned with my sensibilities and became an art style I hope to keep using. When you see artists who’ve done things like that, you realise again and again it’s that kind of form which really moves you and shakes you.

Your photography often captures both the beauty and stark realities of urban landscapes. What inspires this contrast?

My photography uses colour to capture the totality of life on the streets. Calcutta, with its beauty and darkness, became my backdrop. I believe reality itself has contrasting elements, and that’s how I’ve recorded it.

Which art project would you consider to be most successful? What does success through art mean to you?

For me, success is art that moves, engages, and enriches people – people across backgrounds. It’s about providing something more than the mundane, leaving them with deeper thoughts and enriching their lives. I enjoy working with public art – because it’s transcending backgrounds, it’s reaching the last person.

Many of your installations are interactive and immersive. How has technology helped changed the world of art for you?

I feel if I really want to set out to create that emotional engagement with people irrespective of caste, creed, all forms, then today technology is a huge enabler.

It’s really important to build online communities so that there is constant engagement and constant give and take. So apps, interactive immersiveness, narratives, gamification, – they’re all playing a huge role in this journey. We are tapping into most of it now.