Mahesh Baliga's work presents depth in and on (normal) surfaces, the consequence of a true painterly medium. In his talk/walk-through with the artist, Rohit Goel will consider how aesthetics can teach the following analytical insight: the human subject is most affected by what is hidden on the surface of everyday life and, so, the place of creativity is not the depth of so-called genius but the gaps, the absences, the defaults and short-circuits of what appears to function smoothly.