Indrapramit Roy

Your paintings tell stories, where do they begin?
Very often they begin with images stored away in the head. Could be a drawing book, a scrap book, which stores images consigned for the future. After a period of several years, if I chance upon anything that I have stored away and feel that I can use it, I do. If my paintings tell stories (I’m not sure if they do) then the stories neither have a beginning nor an...

Your paintings tell stories, where do they begin?
Very often they begin with images stored away in the head. Could be a drawing book, a scrap book, which stores images consigned for the future. After a period of several years, if I chance upon anything that I have stored away and feel that I can use it, I do. If my paintings tell stories (I’m not sure if they do) then the stories neither have a beginning nor an end.

How do you choose your medium of work?
I keep shifting gears going in circles and touch upon certain facets like revisiting past interests, memories. For example shaped canvases came from the need to defy the straight edge of a flat canvas and I began to add to that and the work grew automatically .I did it in the early 90’s and after a gap of almost 14 years I realize I have come back to it. I constantly move back and forth when it comes to variations in mediums. With hindsight one can almost see a cyclical nature in those movements, like small to big and vice versa or oil to water colour and back. There could be a period when I would work extensively in watercolours till I feel that I have exhausted its possibilities and then I move on to something new. The thing is that the ‘new’ is also the ‘old’, going back, so the back and forth continues. For instance, I am interested in the transparency of watercolours and I am also interested in the opaque light of oils so the natural way for me to straddle both ends of the spectrum is to shift strategies.

What about the process? How did you shift from watercolours?
I used to start my work by dirtying the paper because the stark whiteness of the surface was daunting. When I worked with corrugated boards, something I really enjoyed, I tried to paint something very delicate and precious on a surface that is industrial and recycled and that went on for 3 –4 years. I had two solos with those works.
Watercolours began with a space constraint back in 1998. My daughter was born and I did not have a large working area. I began transparent watercolours rather diffidently in the beginning. Watercolors required me to change the entire method of working. You can’t do things like dirtying the paper in transparent water colour that you can in mixed medias or even gouaches. A new approach was required and I had to build it from scratch. In a way it was a kind of landmark. After 4-5 years, I realized I wanted a larger format to depict a lot of loose ends and that was when I sort of departed from watercolours and began working in oils. Yet there remained a mental connection to my watercolours in the glazing technique, which I started using. So the connection remains and nothing is water-tight. I am doing things simultaneously now.

Your works elude the human figure despite the fact that you are constantly depicting things related to human existence.
I like my works to be underplayed and subtle. Perhaps it comes from a classical temperament. Ideally I want to create a visual, which would be able to hold one’s interest over a long period of time. That’s how my work has evolved to this stage. The human figure is outside the frame but the human presence is everywhere. The space and the objects speak about that presence and I try to harness the power of evocation.
The drama that takes place within objects or between them interests me. The artifice of display, the stage-like set up of the Dutch still lifes have so much to offer in this respect. Though devoid of the human form my works evoke the human presence.
My first body of works in this set dealt with objects and then I began working with cityscapes and both are connected to the human existence.

Realistic expression in the still life’s and a not so real depiction of your city landscapes. Would you like to comment on that?
I guess, it has something to do with the shift from the micro level to the macro. In the landscapes the mood takes over. What fascinate me are those times of the day when the light is very unusual and everything acquires a dramatic, surreal feel. I also love to retain a slight edge, an element that makes the whole thing a bit disconcerting.

Space has always held a lot of significance in your work. Is it a conscious thing that comes to mind when you begin working on a painting?
Space is both conscious and unconscious. It happens. Space is also an artifice in the scheme of things that takes over.

Each artist eventually creates his own visual language. How important is this to you?
A vocabulary is very important but that is not to be confused with ‘style’. The vocabulary lends you the freedom to explore whereas ‘style’ can be very limiting. I like to believe that there remains a connection between all my works but they are not confined to ‘stylistic’ monotony.

What are you currently working on?
I am working simultaneously on a large piece of shaped canvas and lots of moderate sized watercolours and some drawings. It takes some amount of jugglery to move from one to the other and that is the challenge.

Baroda has been in the eye of a storm for the last couple of months. Related to that and also being a teacher who guides the future artists of the country, do you think that artists have a social responsibility regarding the expression of their creativity?
What we are seeing in Baroda has less to do with artistic freedom and more with the sanctity of academic space. if you allow the man from the street to dictate what is acceptable and what is not within the precincts of an academic institution it is a recipe for disaster. The most unfortunate part is that the University rather than siding with people who are trying to uphold that sanctity are seemingly siding with the very people hell bent of destroying it. ‘Hurting of sentiments’ is a ruse that can be effectively used to ban a large chunk of art and literature. Artists are soft targets and if the civil society does not stand up and say ‘I may not agree or even like what the artist says but nevertheless he has a right to say it’ then public morality will remain a hand-maiden of politicians to be used selectively with ulterior motives. Artists definitely have social responsibility and part of that is to explore taboos and question conventional wisdom. That is part of what art is meant to do in a modern society, hold up a mirror that reflects the good, bad and the ugly. If you want a vibrant art scene the society also has a responsibility to allow artists to deal with uncomfortable themes.

What do you see the future holding for you?
I don’t know. I thought I had some contributions to make in the field of art education but the attitude of the University is forcing me to do a rethink. In terms of my own practice I feel there are lots of areas where I would like to go before I take the final bow. Let’s see. Life is an adventure and I do not have a set goal. The journey is important and I would take it as it comes.

Baroda, 2007