vikrantbhise_artist

06/12/2025

On the occasion of 69th Mahaparinirvan Divas,

I dedicate this performance as an extension of my practice to Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar.
I performed this song “Chandanyachi Chhaya” written by Mahakavi Waman Dada Kardak,
alongside the talented band and dear friends .artist at during two-person show with .pushpakanthan in 2024.

Ambedkari Jalsa is a Marathi folk tradition of street theatre and musical performances(shahiri) that emerged as a tool for Dalit empowerment and to spread the vision of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar through songs and drama. These performances highlight Dalit history, caste oppression and the fight for equality.

08/09/2025

“The reconciliation of the horrid past that manifests into the present remains unacknowledged.
”
― Suraj Yengde, Caste Matters

Who Killed Somnath Suryawanshi? (2025)
Oil on canvas
36 x 24 in

This painting emerges from the custodial killing of Somnath Vyankat Suryawanshi, a young
Ambedkarite law student who died in police custody in Parbhani, Maharashtra, in December
2024. The state insisted it was a heart attack. Bhise insists on another truth: that the violence is
systemic, continuous, and unending.
Rather than depict the moment of death, Bhise turns to its aftermath. The painting becomes a
site of mourning and witness, where grief and solidarity gather against denial. His figures,
drawn from the visual density of mural traditions, refuse erasure. They do not allow the death to
be absorbed into silence.
Bhise’s question —
“Who killed Somnath Suryawanshi?”
— is not asked in search of a single
culprit. It is directed at structures that normalize custodial violence, at a society complicit in
looking away. The work insists that the question remain alive, unresolved, carried forward as
testimony.
Work was part of 2025 with

03/07/2025

COMMEMORATING FIGURE FOR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC,

2024

Oil on canvas
24 x 60 in

01/07/2025

“Living archives “Siddharth Colony, Chembur

36”x48” In -
Oil on canvas -
Year 2025

Work was a part of

25/06/2025

Shahid Smarak Chawk - Siddharth Colony -

22”x29”
Oil on canvas -
Year 2025


Was part of

23/06/2025

From Ignorance to Enlightenment -

22”x29”
Oil on canvas
Year 2025

21/06/2025

Are ‘WE’ the people 1

20/06/2025

“Crushing Voices“

Showing this week at , ✨🌟
Booth k9

ROYAL BLUE SERIES

As someone deeply engaged with the Phule-Ambedkar movement, I’ve spent years living, working, and reflecting within spaces that have been shaped by Dalit resistance and assertion. Today, I find myself witnessing a quiet but urgent crisis—the neighbourhoods where this movement has lived and thrived are now facing redevelopment.

In my new body of work, I’ve focused on Siddharth Colony in Chembur—one of several Dalit strongholds in Mumbai. I’ve painted it in layered shades of blue, drawing from the symbolism of Ambedkarite thought. The Royal Blue here becomes more than color—it speaks of memory, dignity, and collective strength. It holds stories of celebration and struggle, and it stands quietly against the forces that seek to erase them.

Neighbourhoods like Matunga Labour Camp, BDD Chawls (Worli), Ramabai Nagar (Ghatkopar), Sion Koliwada, Kannamwar Nagar (Vikhroli), and Siddharth Colony (Chembur) have been living archives of Dalit political and cultural life. These were not just housing spaces but vital grounds for community-led education, Ambedkar Jayanti processions, study circles, theatre, music, and public readings. Namdeo Dhasal’s poetry was read and performed in these spaces—not in galleries, but in courtyards and lanes, charged with urgency and fire.

72x96 in - Mix Media on canvas - Year 2025

28/04/2025

Series 2
Title: Disruptions and destructions
Size: H-14 x W-12 In
Medium: Oil on canvas
Year: 2025

27/04/2025