Sarojini Jha Johnson

Sarojini Jha Johnson’s work incorporates native and invasive flora and fauna to explore how human settlement and migration have impacted our natural landscape. For this residency, Jha Johnson created an artist book inspired by water lilies, an important symbol in South Asian iconography, and a recurring personal motif in her work. The Gardens’ waterways and the waterlilies in the Monet Pool became resources for this endeavor, culminating in a hand-bound book of intaglio prints housed in a custom-designed box. 

About the Artist

Sarojini Jha Johnson grew up in Ohio and earned undergraduate degrees in French and drawing from the University of Cincinnati. She received an MFA in printmaking from Miami University where she began working with animal and plant forms in her prints. She teaches printmaking at Ball State University in Indiana. Johnson’s main medium is color intaglio printmaking, a medium that allows for great creativity and invention in terms of surface and color. Recently, she has been exploring memories and impressions of India, her country of origin, while retaining her usual animal and plant imagery. She also makes books that highlight the devastating effects of humankind’s tampering with nature by introducing invasive flora and fauna.