DUALITY a Poetry and Art Exhibition by Mehr Dhawan

About the Exhibition

DUALITY invites you into a space where poetry and paint speak the same language. It is a reflection of imagination and empathy where words meet brushstrokes, and emotions take shape in color and texture. Through this exhibition, Grade 9 artist and poet Mehr Dhawan channels her deep concern for the planet into art that provokes reflection and hope. The exhibition is already started from 26th September and on view till 29th October at College of Art, Tilak Marg, Bhagwan Das Lane, Mandi House, New Delhi from 10am to 5pm

Her works blend charcoal, acrylic, and watercolor across paper and canvas, each piece telling a story of sustainability, loss, and renewal. Through this fusion, she explores the fragile balance between nature and human progress a duality that defines our world today.

Artistic techniques include:

• Charcoal on textured paper
• Acrylic on canvas
• Mixed media (Charcoal, Acrylic & Watercolor on Canvas)

Artist’s Vision

Mehr’s mission for DUALITY is simple yet profound:

“To inspire environmental consciousness through the combined power of art and poetry, using charcoal, acrylic, and watercolor to evoke our shared responsibility toward a sustainable planet.”

Her art is not just expression but advocacy. It bridges imagination and awareness, asking viewers to see beauty and warning in the same frame.

About the Artist and Her Journey

Mehr Dhawan is a Grade 9 student at Pathways School, Gurgaon, who finds her voice through art, poetry, yoga, and Kathak. For her, art is a safe and powerful space one where emotions flow freely and silence finds meaning.

Her environmental journey began remarkably early. At age 3, disturbed by pollution around her, Mehr asked for “a forest” as a gift. That dream turned into action when she planted over 30,000 Lakshmi Taru trees with her mother, an experience that became the foundation of her lifelong passion for sustainability.

By Grade 4, she began her first environmental campaign at school, and by Grade 5, she extended her advocacy online launching an Instagram campaign that used posters, videos, and original poems to raise awareness.

Among her impactful works is Sliced Sea, a piece crafted from recycled candle wicks and twine, portraying the ocean from surface to seabed to reveal the invisible harm of marine pollution. The artwork was featured in her school’s newsletter under themes like Painting Our Planet and A Sustainable Artistic Representation of Marine Depth. It also earned her a letter of recommendation from the Secretary, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting and Government of India.

Over time, poetry became another form of her artistic expression where emotions she couldn’t paint found rhythm and voice. Her poems are free-flowing, honest, and deeply felt, echoing her concern for the Earth and her hope for change.

Selected Works and Poems

Life in 2025

Charcoal/Acrylic/Watercolor on Canvas

Beneath bright flags of red, green, and gold,

Children dance with bottles they hold,

Plastic treasures clutched in hands,

Scattered like seeds across the land.

No rivers sing, no birds take flight,

The sky is heavy, robbed of light.

Even trees bow low in grief,

Their roots entangled in plastic’s thief.

Tree N Factree

Acrylic on Canvas

On one side, a tree leans into the light,

its leaves trembling with secrets older than time itself.

On the other, a factory stands tall,

its steel ribs glowing, its breath thick with smoke.

Black Plant

Acrylic Painting

The background glows, a cruel disguise,

A carnival painted of lies.

But truth is inked in that dark stem 

A warning we must not condemn.

For every plant that fades to night,

We lose a spark, a thread of light.

And every colour soon will fade,

To match the shadow we have made.

So let this painting hold your gaze,

A mirror to our reckless ways.

Zipped Greens

Acrylic on Canvas

The city surrounds, pressing close like a crown of iron,

but the willow does not tremble.

It bows, yes, but it never breaks.

Every leaf a secret hymn,

every shadow a sanctuary for those who dare to pause and listen.

Perhaps it is a question hidden in the paint of your canvas.

Cry Beneath the Surface

Acrylic Painting

We poured our poisons down its veins,

With plastic tides and oil stains.

We buried their innocent screams and cries,

Deep under plastic and marine debris.

The coral once so brightly glowed,

Now bows in front of plastic’s hold.

The seabirds choke on what we throw,

Mistaking it for food below.

The turtle, grand and wise through the years,

Now swims through the Pacific patch and tears.

The Essence of Duality

DUALITY stands as a reflection of the human paradox — creation and destruction, beauty and neglect, hope and consequence. Mehr’s works remind us that art is not only for admiration but also for awakening. Through her brush and verse, she calls on each viewer to pause, reflect, and take responsibility for the world we are shaping.