Balaji Ponna received his B.F.A in Graphics from Andhra University with Gold medal and M.F.A in Graphics from Visva – Bharati University, Santiniketan. He has been recipient of H.R.D. National Scholarship for young Artists (2004–05). Ponna has participated in various group shows over the last couple of years including Art Celebrates 2010: Sports and the City, Contemporary Exoticism curated by Marco Meneguzzo at Studio La Citta, Verona; Art Basel by Studio la Citta, 2009; Trends in Contemporary Indian Art, Saffronart, New York and The Guild, New York. His works were also exhibited at the France Print Biennial in 2009. “Balaji’s works comprise a crucial relation between the painted text-phrases and the images. His paintings are ‘anachronic’. Often his works pokes the system’s inconsistencies with pun and sarcasm. But interestingly these also refer to the popular/ist ideologies in circulation defining betterment and emancipation.