Ritu Arts Studio

Tracing the soul's inner cartography through assembled artifacts.

My journey into art began not with a single moment, but with a lifelong fascination for creating. As a child, I felt truly alive crafting masks from beans and maize flour or drawing my family in the kitchen. This was more than a hobby; it was a calling I only recently acknowledged after creating Map Through Madness: The Procrastination.My environment is my palette. Growing up in Kenya, I developed an unusual appreciation for natural, found materials—stones, wood, sand—and a desire to create order and patterns from them. This intuitive draw to the organic and industrial is non-negotiable; I use what feels right.The core of my work is a fusion of personal philosophy, healing, and connection. It stems from a need to question everything until it makes sense, to connect the dots for myself, and in doing so, contribute to a greater collective awakening. I hope my relics prompt viewers to a deep introspection of their own reality.The process itself is a relentless argument to create. The more I ignore it, the higher the cost of escapism. Each piece evolves far beyond my original idea, guided entirely by intuition. If a material or placement feels wrong, I must undo it until it belongs.From my first impulsive works to now, my evolution has been profound. I’ve moved from seeking external inspiration to embodying my own physics within the relics. This practice allows me to explore, understand, and become more whole.Looking forward, I see this as an undivided union: to scale my work to a global level and to mentor emerging artists in Kenya, helping them find a platform where their work is truly celebrated.

Copper Wire Study, 2023
An earlier exploration of material and form.

The inaugural relic in a series of sculptural maps charting the psyche’s journey from paralysis to awakening. Forged intuitively from over 30 organic and industrial materials—including thorns, bones, mirror shards, copper wire, and salt—this work invites the viewer to contemplate their own landscapes of struggle and transcendence.Details
Medium: Assemblage Sculpture
Dimensions: 23" x 31" x 3"
Series: Map Through Madness (I of VI)

Left Side (Viewer's Perspective): The Integrated JourneyA left-side view revealing the contrast between chaotic zones and structured areas. Focuses on material juxtaposition and the flow between symbolic sections.

Right Side (Viewer's Perspective):A right-side angle view captures the entire relic as a unified landscape of transformation. This perspective shows how the zones of Dogma, Perception, Struggle, and Awakening are not isolated stages, but interconnected parts of the psyche's journey from bondage to liberation.

The Engineered Third EyeA close-up of the "Third Eye," the zone of inner vision and intuition. This intricate mechanism represents the struggle to see beyond illusion. The two opposing swirls reflect the duality and complementary function of the brain's hemispheres, while the crisscrossing woven copper and steel wires metaphysical conductors of energy and structure; create a DNA like strand, symbolizing the innate, biological and spiritual quest for consciousness. The copper, a traditional conduit for spiritual energy, intertwines with the steel, representing industrial strength and modern constructs, illustrating the tension between ancient wisdom and contemporary reality. Bordering the mechanism, white salt stones; traditional symbols of purification and preservation; act as spiritual guardians, cleansing this sacred space of perception. Varnished glitters applied to the wirework shimmer with deceptive allure, representing the enticing yet hollow distractions that obscure true sight. Partially burnt woody stems flank the structure, embodying the necessary consumption of the old self in the fire of introspection. At the center, the rotating bearing with its mirror and marble signifies the reflective and often elusive nature of perception itself. This metaphysical instrument challenges the viewer to see past the glitter to the raw truth beneath.

The Thorn Spiral of Struggle: The Path of Suffering and RebirthA close-up of the "Thorn Spiral," mapping the painful but necessary journey through chaos and struggle toward enlightenment. This vicious vortex of thorns represents hardship and resistance, yet it originates from the open pine cone epicenter—the spiritual lighthouse guiding the way through rough seas of experience. The regenerating bone at the spiral's heart symbolizes the profound rebirth and growth that emerges only when one confronts their pain. This zone embodies the ultimate transmutation: by turning inward to understand the outer world, one can align their fragments, ascend, and activate the pineal clarity required to transform suffering into strength. The Thorn Spiral is not a trap, but a forge.

The Illusion of Matter and the Awakening of SoulA detailed view of the “Pyramid of Illusion,” representing the conflict between material dogma and spiritual liberation. To the left, rotten twigs with lichen and decay symbolize the erosion of truth under rigid systems, while fresh acacia twigs and rib bones mark a transition toward the pine cone at the relic’s center.The basalt pyramid itself rests upon fragmented mirrors, encircled by a woven steel and copper ring, embodying a soul fragmented by materialism. It tilts subtly away from the epicenter, as if shying away from the enlightenment emanating from the open pine cone.Cracks between the mirrors are filled with resin in a gradient of chakra colors, beginning with red at the left and shifting to white at the right. This spectrum of awakening is trailed by the rebellious figure. The white energy ascends through a red and black background, symbolizing the climb from lower frequencies toward transcendence.Thirty-three figures encircle the pyramid. Thirty-two are illusioned worshippers crafted from twin Carissa thorns with green gram heads, bowing inward. Their postures grow more submissive near the pyramid’s left side, where decaying twigs and lichen dominate. Bound by red chains and wedged with rock pebbles, they embody entrapment within illusion.The thirty-third is the awakened one.
At the circle’s outer edge, chains break. This figure stands free, its spine illuminated with aligned chakra colors, culminating in a crown-lighted green gram hilum representing an open third eye. A trail of white energy flows from its feet across the resin-textured background, leading toward the pine cone—a direct pathway from rebellion to enlightenment, from matter to soul.This zone visualizes the choice: submit to the pyramid’s illusion, or break free and follow the light toward source.

Zone 0: The FoundationThe initial map: a board marked with pencil, placed nails, and river stones. This bare blueprint represents the moment of commitment—the empty canvas before the journey through chaos and revelation began. It is the structural and symbolic foundation from which the entire relic emerged.