Portia Roy often describes herself as a stray dog on the streets of India, not aiming to bring sweeping change but capable of disturbing the quiet midnight slumber of a few. She barks through her art, a practice she affectionately calls “Midnight Woof Woof.” Much like the stray dog’s presence, often overlooked yet impossible to ignore, her work seeks to awaken people to the stories that demand to be seen and heard.

Growing up in a small town in Bengal during the communist era, Portia was surrounded by political discussions and oral histories. Her grandmothers’ stories of partition, escape, and survival shaped her understanding of resilience and belonging. As a child, she spent long nights reading from her father’s collection of books by Dostoevsky, Gorky, Kafka, and the Hungry Generation poets of Bengal, discovering worlds filled with struggle and rebellion.

Her early life was also marked by pain and self-discovery. Having experienced molestation as a child, she became aware of the vulnerability faced by women in her country. This awareness became the seed of her artistic practice, transforming personal trauma into a language of empathy and protest.

Art Practice

While studying printmaking at Kala Bhavana, Portia found her passion in woodcut art. The raw and powerful nature of carving into wood allowed her to translate her emotions into form. She soon began experimenting with wood carving techniques, exploring how the physical act of cutting, engraving, and layering could hold meaning beyond the image itself.

Over time, her practice evolved into a unique blend of mixed media. By combining the boldness of carved surfaces with the fluidity of acrylic colours, she developed a striking visual language that merges structure with spontaneity. Her works, often engraved and painted on plywood, use texture, depth, and colour to tell stories of resistance, womanhood, and survival.

The subjects in her art are deeply personal yet widely resonant. Through a careful interplay of engraved lines and painted surfaces, she creates visual tension that reflects both struggle and resilience. Everyday objects take on symbolic roles, occupying disproportionate spaces and drawing the viewer into her layered narratives.

Her years in Chennai brought a new vibrancy to her palette. Watching women dressed in bright sarees, confidently moving through public spaces, inspired her use of bold, saturated colours. These hues now define her mixed media works, turning them into celebrations of strength and individuality.

Artistic Vision

For Portia Roy, art is a means to provoke thought and awaken empathy. Her practice remains rooted in storytelling and social consciousness, balancing technique with emotion. Through her explorations in woodcut art, wood carving, and mixed media, she continues to amplify voices that often go unheard, transforming personal experiences into universal expressions of courage and hope.