Ten years after graduating, Aishwaryan looks back with conviction. Today he talks about the ups and downs, learnings and rewards which have made his journey worthwhile, in an interview with Shraddha Nair for the Asian Curator.
It was a sunny Wednesday afternoon in February when I made my way across town to the Western half of the city of Bangalore. As an art-lover and self-declared local artist hunter, I’ve been wanting to meet Aishwaryan K for many months now. I had chanced upon his work at one or two different art exhibitions and heard his name roll off the tongues of artists, curators and gallerists alike. My curiosity to see more of his works only grew keener.
About six months ago, I met him briefly on Lavelle Road outside a gallery we were both visiting. The conversation was short but Aishwaryan, being quite an active person on the Bangalore art scene, was a relatively easy person to keep in touch with. As he does for many across town, he’d always keep me posted about new shows and performances making the occasional chat inevitable. We kept in touch via our digital interfaces but I was never lucky enough to cross paths with him until recently. Although the plan was made while he was in Japan for a residency, the timing worked out quite serendipitously and after many months I finally visited his studio.
‘Laws Of Attraction’ by Aishwaryan K. Credit: Aishwaryan K.
Aishwaryan is undoubtedly one of the most relevant and fascinating upcoming artists in our city. With a minimalist approach, Aishwaryan rarely puts a line on his canvas without being absolutely sure if its necessity. Most artwork can be divided into two kinds – process driven and concept driven. Aishwaryan situates himself in the latter without much hesitation. With a hand which is unmistakably contemporary, Aishwaryan’s work is very much rooted in his personal context while staying relatable on an intimate level for an audience across cultures and ages. His works are mostly figurative, brought to life with a meld of gouache, pastel and acrylic on paper. Aishwaryan’s deliberate practice is evidenced in his conscious choice of paper. While I always noticed the grainy surface, I chalked it down as regularly available handmade sheets when in fact they were special sheets made from elephant dung. Available in two shades of dark and light (depending on the elephant’s diet), this medium has slowly become inseparable from Aishwaryan’s art. While the origins of this type of paper-making likely made its way over from Thailand, the elephant dung paper can now be found easily in India made by Haathi Chaap, an organisation based in New Delhi.
Aishwaryan’s artistic inclination was awoken at a young age as his brother studied in Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath, a renowned institution of fine arts in the South Indian State. By sheer happenstance, Aishwaryan’s school was located nearby as well. As a student he would frequent the art school campus to attend the fairs, exhibitions, competitions and other events which took place every now and then. Aishwaryan credits his older brother with his decision to take his latent interest in art a step further, which is when he joined Ken School of Art, Bangalore and later Bangalore University for a post-diploma course in printmaking.
The artist and his blank canvas. Credit: Shraddha Nair.
What do you see is the primary role of an artist? How do you see yourself and your practice in the context of challenging people’s perspectives?
All of us are creative. We are trained to speak and write but art is imbued in us. Man learnt how to draw and paint well before writing, reading and speaking. I think that has always been there but only a few of us have been lucky enough to choose it for our careers. All of us are creative people but when it comes to expressing, there is a platform which has been given to us but I think as an artist it’s nice to be able to express our feelings and our perspective of what we see around us in visual form and have that translate to our audience and they feel something through that. I do think that we as artists are responsible to maybe bring attention to particular causes. I think now, the current times we are in, artists are the best set of people who can bring some change into society. Many have been doing this before as well but now it’s more crucial than ever… I think I’m part of that generation which is now trying to express our interests and be part of the society which is responsible for the future. If not now then when? Initially it was more about me, my art and my journey but now I think I’m consciously or unconsciously moving towards that larger picture. I know what I do is responsible for collective expression over a longer period of time.
‘Now you see, yet you don’t..’ (front) by Aishwaryan K. Credit: Aishwaryan K.
What are the challenges of being a conceptually driven artist? What are the uncertainties that you face in the process of translation?
There are so many thoughts which come to mind and you want to express everything but to choose the right image or the right idea is a constant process. For me personally, I hold onto a lot of ideas. I question everything before I put it out there. I am my own audience first. I ask “Why do I have to do this?”. If I feel there is some importance to what I’m trying to say and I feel it will impact a lot of people then I pursue it. I take it slowly where I imagine every colour, every composition, every line that I draw has a reason to be there. I’m not spontaneous that way. There are artists who work differently but this is my process and what I’m comfortable with. I keep my ideas in for a long time but if it keeps pushing me every morning when I wake up and I think about the same thing again and again, I recognise that as my intuition telling me that this is what I should do. I go with my gut.
Aishwaryan and his sculptural installation titled ‘Quite The Character’. Credit: Shraddha Nair.
What is the biggest risk you’ve taken as an artist?
I think the biggest risk has been being in the field with no backup plan. From the batch I graduated with there were so many better talents than me but the minute we graduated the reality was such that we all had to sustain ourselves. A lot of them got jobs like teaching and designing. I never did this because I knew that apart from art, I had no other talent. A lot of people have suggested that I get into teaching, saying it brings good money. Even my family has asked what I would do apart from this but I don’t react quickly and that has been my safety. People throw the good, bad, everything at me and I’ve slowly accepted it and only reacted later. I just let things come my way and that’s been my success mantra so far.
How do you balance your personal practice and commercial practice?
I have still to get that mainstream success. Frankly speaking, I haven’t sold much. Luckily whatever I have in the gallery has been there for a long time… When I graduated the art market had crashed and I realised I wouldn’t be able to just work as a full time artist, spending all my days painting. The minute I passed out I realised I needed to do something but apart from art I had nothing. My way of being financially sustainable and providing for my family has been by assisting projects, working for galleries and curators, part time or full time. My CV that way has grown. I’ve been with most galleries in Bangalore and helped a lot of artists in their projects and in curatorial contexts and whatever I get paid from that has been coming and going. Nothing has been invested and I haven’t been able to save as much as one would want to. I’m blessed that something came my way when I have been on the verge of giving up… I have been lucky to have many help me whenever i have needed something but I really am grateful to Gallery Sumukha, Suresh Jayaram, Lina Vincent and fellow artist Lokesh B. H.
‘Such A Sucker’ by Aishwaryan K. Credit: Aishwaryan K.
Where do you stand on commissioned artworks? Is that something you’re open to?
I am open to it, Gallery Sumukha has supported me for a couple of commissioned works where I have been given the freedom to do what I would be willing to. The creative satisfaction has been my own, where I gave an idea and they have been open to it. I don’t separate commissioned works. That has also been a part of my artistic practice where I have been able to afford or come up with an idea which I would have not invested on my own. Some ideas have grown like that and been created in that way.
What was your first sale?
The first sale I did was the work which I did for my show at Ken School at a mela. We had kept some works for three days and nothing had sold. We were just waiting to pack up and go back. Because I couldn’t take them back by myself I had kept some works at my seniors stall where he was packing. A buyer who came to buy his work ended up buying my work as well. She became my first patron and she eventually bought a lot more works from me and gave me a scholarship. I think she felt the work, you know? It was a gouache on paper and it spoke day and night, about my struggle as an artist and how I didn’t have a studio. In the day I would just sit and that about what to do and in the night is when I would be able do it because my family would sleep and I would spread out my work. I think she related to it in some way. She said, “I like the work”. I thought she was just appreciating it but then she asked “How much?”. I said I never priced my work… She said, “You tell me what you want and I’ll give it to you”. I just bluntly said, “Eight thousand rupees” and that was a big amount for me. I think I managed to pull off three to months with just that. This was about twelve years ago. She told me she would never sell the work, “It is for me, that’s why I’m buying it”. That has been special… Most of the buyers who have bought my work have not been collector buyers but just sort of connected to the work and ended up buying it.
A peek into Aishwaryan’s studio in Vijaynagar, Bangalore. Credit: Shraddha Nair.
What can we look forward to from Aishwaryan’s studio in 2020?
The foremost thing will be my first solo which I am working on. I have a couple of smaller shows which I had committed to before but my personal interest is to produce my first solo. Right now there is one show in Delhi with Anant Art, it is a group show and there are 13 artists from all over India. That is on till March 15th. I have been a part of a portfolio exchange of prints which is happening all over the world. There are forty artists from different countries including India. There is also a charity show which is going to happen sometime next month at Taj West End for Kala by Vidya curated by Lina Vincent.
Aishwaryan’s recent residency in Matsudo, Japan was a part of an exchange program between 1 Shanti Road (Bangalore, India) and Paradise Air (Mastudo, Japan). He is the third Indian artist to participate in this residency. During his residency he recalled stories of Hiroshima from his school days which led him to visit the city and explore the narratives which surround the historic bombings. Although he isn’t sharing any works from his time there as of yet, one of the things I’m certainly looking forward to from Aishwaryan in the coming years is the body of work which will result from his experience at the Paradise Air residency.
Aishwaryan is supported and represented by Gallery Sumukha.
As told to Shraddha Nair for the Asian Curator.