“The fighting spirit is an act of awakening to life,” said Rupy C. Tut, referring to the constant battle that one experiences while living in this world. Tutankhamun has long invoked her family’s immigrant history and Punjabi heritage to consider kinship, a theme that has recently evolved into a recurring warrior character. “My characters don’t have the privilege of belonging and being seen as part of a place without having to explain it, and they’re finding ways to navigate and fight that feeling of being out of place,” she added.
The dreamy “Battle Ready,” which depicts a suited figure floating among translucent jellyfish, is one such piece. The creatures’ tentacles drag across the composition, enveloping expanses of blue and the subject’s limbs with delicate lines. These patterns also provide insight into the emotional expression of the work. “If the environment is meant to soothe emotions, then the character’s straitjacket is chaotic misery,” the artist told Colossal. “Similarly, if the straitjacket serves the purpose of placating a character’s narrative, then danger and the potential for chaos and unsafeness lurk in the immediate environment.”
Tutankhamun was attracted to these metaphorical pairings, and her handmade paints are another example. The artist assigns emotions and themes to each color that appears repeatedly in her practice. “The yellow lead oxide primarily marks the place or moment of my character’s struggle, while the vermilion red deepens the earthiness of the dialogue in the painting by rooting the story in blood and earth,” she said.
By limiting her palette, the artist further constructs a world in which ideas evolve over time but have a clear lineage to their ancestors, adding, “This sensemaking is also a way of indexing my thinking and creation, with paintings from different eras in conversation through this growing symbolism of color.”
For Tut, painting in this way was both therapeutic and devotional, especially as her life as a woman, mother, and artist continued to grapple with stereotypes and traditions. The slow process of creating paint and working in the studio tethers her to something larger and taps into the emptiness she feels.
It might be a significant childhood building that makes you feel small and safe, or a home that gives you the freedom to dream, or a road trip with trees you no longer see, or the values of slowing down, being in the moment, being happy in nothingness but striving for excellence, history books that don’t cover your grandparents’ trauma, or the politics of not noticing or celebrating the Indian immigrant girl wearing an American flag scarf in her senior photo to prove her identity in a post-9/11 world; these are all examples of gaps I hope to fill through my work and painting practice.
This is also where the Warriors return. Tutankhamun believed that this strong, fearless figure represented “responsibility, honesty, justice and a commitment to humility as an act of courage,” values that were reflected in her life and work. Whether rendering the swirling patterns of a character’s bodysuit, or patiently waiting for paint to dry only to discover a recipe is wrong, the artist’s creations are both a tribute to ancestors and a way to connect with people in turmoil.
Tutt’s work is currently on display at the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento and the National Portrait Gallery. She will also be included in a group show opening later this week at the Houghton Gallery at San Joaquin Delta College. Explore more of her practice on Instagram.
