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Charisma Panchapakesan – Drawing & Mixed Media
Charisma Panchapakesan is a Toronto-based visual artist whose work explores the intersection of ecology, cultural memory, and imagination. Trained as an architect, she brings a love of precision, structure, and symbolism into her drawing practice. Working primarily in mixed media—pastel, ink, graphite, and paint—she creates intricately detailed drawings that merge natural history with the surreal, reimagining animals as carriers of story and emotion.
Born in Bahrain to Indian parents and immigrating to Canada in 1989, Panchapakesan’s work is deeply shaped by the storytelling traditions she grew up with as part of the South Asian diaspora. In both Indian folklore and Hinduism, animals often serve as moral figures, tricksters, and sacred beings—mirrors of human character and carriers of wisdom. She draws from this heritage to explore how stories and symbols of animals can bridge cultures, evoke empathy, and restore our connection to the natural world.
Her recent series focuses on endangered species, reflecting on how their disappearance signals not only ecological loss but a fading of shared myths and emotional resonance. Through narrative imagery, she examines the fragile bonds between survival, reverence, and memory.
Panchapakesan’s work has been exhibited in Canadian museums and galleries internationally. Her pieces are held in notable collections, including the City of Toronto’s Fine Art Collection, and she has written and illustrated two children’s books that showcase her art alongside original rhyming poetry. She is also the co-founder of CAB Architects in Toronto.
ARTIST STATEMENT
My work explores the intersection of ecology, cultural memory, and imagination. Drawing from my architectural training and South Asian heritage, I am fascinated by the ways that line, pattern, and symbolism can carry meaning across time and culture. I often draw on motifs, forms, and visual language from classical and traditional art, reinterpreting them to tell stories about animals in ways that feel both familiar and new. By taking iconography that is recognizable and transforming it through the lens of animal storytelling, I aim to create work that surprises, engages, and invites reflection.
Animals are central to my practice, not only as subjects of beauty or scientific curiosity, but as carriers of story, allegory, and emotional resonance. Much of my work is influenced by the Indian storytelling traditions I grew up with, where animals are moral figures, companions, and sacred beings. I bring this perspective into contemporary contexts, exploring how these creatures continue to shape human understanding and empathy.
Through my drawings, I hope to rewild the imagination, restoring emotional and symbolic connections between people and the natural world. My work considers how we remember, honor, and care for other species, nurturing empathy and reflection. By blending cultural heritage, visual experimentation, and ecological awareness, I aim to create narratives that bridge the human and non-human worlds, renewing the threads that connect nature, culture, and imagination.
