MALIA BHATTACHARJEE makes a very novel form of art by unleashing angst on the pages of books via flames – literal flames. In more ordinary words, she burns books, not on the whole, but in part, from their entrails to outer edges. Her art object and medium are essentially the “book” to which she applies her personal pyrotechniques to make what she calls “cenotaphs”. “Books, objects, suspended free-forms, pages all have to pass through this passage through fire to emerge with a new meaning” to be able to reflect the scars of time. Malia’s work has been exhibited in many notable art cites like Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru. Malia teaches art in school and presently lives and works in Kolkata.