History SPEAKS

KRSNA MEHTA, DESIGNER ndia Circus is my latest exploration and it represents my vision of contemporary India: The India that I live in. I think that India today is respectful, if not devoted to her artistic past. However, modern India is visibly making leaps into the digital age. Just as you have rickshaws, and even the occasional cow on the street, you also have the latest sports car. Similarly, I try to juxtapose iconic motifs of India’s artistic heritage with contemporary elements.

The canon of Indian art history is so diverse and it is integral to my vision. Raja Ravi Varma’s naturalistic and romantic renditions are as present in my paintings as Mohammad Shah Raza’s abstract expressionism. I loved Jean Paul Gaultier’s Spring/ Summer 1995 collection, where he fashioned a printed tulletop from a vintage rupee note. I am also quite taken by Japanese designer, Yaoi Kasuma’s art installations.

I take aesthetics seriously. I strongly believe that the eye must travel. If my designs are stimulating enough to offer a sense of visual pleasure and release — an anesthetic to an over- rated reality — then I believe that I have succeeded. To me, design refers to both the style as well as the hardwork that goes into creating it. It is thus an honour to term an artifact as a work of design as it pays homage to aesthetics, and the effort behind the creation.

IRohini Nair