My work is an endeavor to capture the beauty of Nature and the myriad hues of different cultures; and to document the existential threats to them in these troubled times.
I live in a desert country where every element of Nature is a wondrous celebration. Every green shoot in the parched desert alludes to the power of Mother Nature to create and sustain precious life. Every drop of water reaffirms that faith and every drizzle of rain is a celebration of life.
Unfortunately, the serene, lush green bounties of our motherland back home is taken for granted and the verdant landscape is under severe pressure from the demands of a consumerist modern society. With great sorrow, I witness the beauty of our land slowly disappearing before my eyes. There is an urgency to capture what remains of it for posterity; at least as a pointer to future generations as to what greed and unbridled consumerism can do to Mother Earth and, by extension, to human life itself.
The problem is not confined to the physical realm alone. The global economic integration brought on by “globalization” has given rise to the need for a “uniform culture” across the globe. Multinational conglomerates drive the global consumer market that has come to define lifestyles, food habits, ways of dressing and even the preferred medium of communication. The net result is the fast disappearance of myriad cultures and sub-cultures that define regional identities. I strive to capture glimpses of these vanishing cultures through my work.
According to Picasso, Art is a lie that lets us recognize the Truth. I hope my work helps recognize the truth that the basis of human wellbeing lies in the harmony of connections prevalent in Nature.
Me and Painting
Painting to me is a faithful expression of my inner thoughts, dreams and hopes. It reflects my dreams, hopes and worries. Oscar Wilde’s claim that “Every portrait that is painted with feeling is a portrait of the artist, not the sitter” is quite true in my case.
My proclivity to painting began at a tender age. As a young boy, I scribbled images on slates and on the walls of my home. I later got some formal training from my school art teacher, Mr Rama Pai.
As I grew older, I took a brief break from painting to attend to more pressing needs. However, the urge to paint remained buried deep in my mind. It resurfaced as I began to settle down in life and I pursued it with vigour and the maturity afforded by time and life experiences.
Today, for me, painting is not only an art form close to my heart but also an art that creates a type of uneasiness.
Me and Photography
What ignited my curiosity in photography was my father’s 60-year-old Agfa box camera. Photography is a mirror that reflects nothing but bare truths. Though the view of an object or landscape is the same for everyone, my photographs try to capture something beyond the obvious. It is a view uniquely my own — an unusual hue, often at odd times. I try to capture the “essence” of the moment.
The simple natural chemistry that takes place inside the camera transforms those visuals into an exhilarating form of art. This is what every photographer does. Apart from this, my images are also an attempt to collect and preserve the moods and memories of my travels.
Me and Fractal Art
As an engineering student, I understood the close relationship between computing, mathematics and art. Later, many a software transforming mathematical equations into artistic patterns became available. It is the mathematical precision that lends perfection to art that drew me to Fractal art.