We visit Shivangi in her studio to talk art and dive—viscerally — into her work. Through her eyes, we step into the intimate, chaotic spaces of her childhood. Ahead of our newest edition, And Nobody Said Anything, Shivangi reveals how these scenes shape her practice—and how the politics that define us all start at the dinner table.

Growing up in Delhi, you must’ve seen worlds collide in a single room. How does that madness seep into your work?

The worlds I grew up in were full of noise and chaos, yet I often felt a strange silence within them. I aim to express that conflicted feeling in my paintings. It might sound like a simple binary, but it’s far more complicated—embedded with observations of twisted conversations, intimidating manly laughs, women sweating away in the kitchen, all interrupted by moments of real and intimate connection. All this, and much more, happened in a single night in the same house. Things moved, evolved, and transformed over time—but here I am, frozen in it all, still trying to decipher what unfolds when people meet, laugh, chat, and eat together. It’s a subject I’ll keep returning to, because I believe the spaces where people—and their personalities—collide are where all kinds of politics begin. It all starts at the dinner table.

Is it true you sized the original to match the biggest wall in your room at the time? Love the idea of a piece growing to fit its first home.

It’s true! I stapled my canvas roll as wide as it would go on the biggest wall in my studio. I wanted to become part of the whole new world I was painting. The process was exhilarating and helped me form an intimate connection—even with such a giant work. But in the end, I got stuck and couldn’t finish the painting in that same space.I couldn’t distance myself enough to step back and see it as a spectator. It grew on me so much that it almost engulfed me. So, I had to sneakily move it temporarily and finish it in the giant exhibition hall at my school—hahaha!

You just won the Royal Award, there’s a new show coming. Big things happening. How’s that sitting with you?

I look forward to it. Winning the Royal Award was a big step for me into the Dutch art world—an opportunity to be seen.I want to keep showing my work, sharing my stories through interesting projects, and dive into exciting opportunities. That’s also the beauty of practicing in the Netherlands as an Indian artist—I get to tell my story from the beginning, with no part of it taken for granted. The audience’s familiarity with my work here is more vague, which gives me a greater sense of responsibility and sincerity about what I say—and what I choose not to. Being here feels empowering in that way.