Inspired by the Virgin of Vladimir, the Mother and Child have been a recurrent theme in Chandraguptha Thenuwara's four-decade-long practice. While being celebratory of the precious bond shared between a mother and child, the partly autobiographical work also reflects the angst of separation experienced by countless mothers. Set against a background inspired by military camouflage, much like the shimmering gold used in Byzantine images to indicate the elevated status of the divine, the work bears witness to the grief and suffering caused by an unjust war. 

The work is a fine example of the socialist concerns that are intertwined with the artist's practice - demonstrating the influence and the training at the Moscow State Art Institute/ Surikov Institute under Prof. Tahir Salahov from 1985 -1992. 

Drawing from Rene Magritte’s  Cest ci n’est pas une pipe Thenuwara humorously invites the viewer to question perception in This is Not a Pollock. Through metaphors of blinds that partially obscure the view and the insistence that the painting isn’t merely an expressionistic work, the artist probes the viewer to read between the lines and question their sociopolitical truths.