Early Work

Devraj Dakoji has been influenced by landscape since his formative years in Hyderabad.  One of his first bodies of work, the Stone Series, depicts the primordial boulders that dominated his hometown.  Exploring drawing, painting and printing making, Dakoji was intrigued by the ancient and ancestral connection found in our natural environment.  

In 1985, Dakoji traveled to San Diego, where to his surprise, he heard the familiar sound of peacocks.  This idiosyncratic connection to his home, lead him to an expanded view of the world and life.  Dakoji describes this inner awakening as “Suddenly I became acutely aware that life moves from place to place, back and forth across the globe.“  Soon peacocks, representations of kinetic movement and an all over composition began to appear in his work as he explored the concept of Pranamu, or life force in a series of etchings and lithographs.