Capturing the beauty of nature and that of life
GURUGRAM : When you enter artist Manisha Gera Baswani’s residence on Golf Course Road, you are greeted by a sweet cacophony of nearly 25 chirping budgerigars living in her balcony. This lively presence of nature and animal life is often reflected in her paintings and installations, which combine natural elements and man-made constructs in an abstract mode.
The artist says that her work has always been influenced by her surroundings, people and events occurring in her life. However, when she picks up her brush, it is spontaneity that guides her work. “There was a period when there was a medical emergency in my family. During that time, red became a prominent colour in my creations. My brother was always interested in Elvis Presley and James Bond. That led to a contemporary series inspired by them,” said Baswani. Framed paintings from her Elvis and Bond series now hang pretty on her living room wall. The painting features a bejewelled Elvis form encased in an elaborate multi-coloured border.Baswawni graduated from Jamia Milia Islamia University in 1991 with a Masters in Fine Arts. She then travelled to Paris on a French government scholarship to study art.
Postcards From Home is one of her photography projects that captures Partition stories of artists from both Pakistan and India. The project which started in 2015, consists of pictures of 47 artists on postcards. On the other side are their stories of Partition that they know of or grew up hearing. It stemmed from Baswani’s own parents who were both Pakistanis and had to migrate to India.
“When I displayed the series in Delhi, so many people came up to me and told their own stories of Partition. On the other hand, when I exhibited in Kochi, people came up to me and told me that for them Partition is just a history chapter. We don’t have friends and relatives who lived through it,” said the Baswani as her silver nose-ring sparkled in the dim November sun.
Artist Through The Lens is an ongoing series by Baswani that captures artists at work. Now in its 18th year, the project started when she was working with her mentor and veteran artist A.
Ramachandran. She then started documenting her other artist friends with a still camera, video camera and dictaphone. The series so far has let her capture 350 artists and has been displayed at Kiran Nadar Museum and Kochi Biennale.
“I got to document them so closely because they knew that am also an artist. I would often call up my artist friends and ask when they are in town. Sometimes the reply would be, ‘I am here for three days, you come on the third day,’” said the mother of two with a giggle.
The artist has displayed her creations in various solo and group exhibitions in cities like Karachi, Lahore, Berlin, New York and Paris, among others. Her last exhibit at the India Art Fair 2019, New Delhi, was called Silver line Bloodline.
ONE OF HER PHOTOGRAPHY
PROJECTS CAPTURES PARTITION STORIES FROM BOTH SIDES OF THE BORDER. IT CONSISTS OF PICTURES OF 47 ARTISTS ON POSTCARDS, ALONG WITH THEIR STORIES