Art occurs when a revelation meets a realisation; when the things we see outside, resonate with our insides and insights, and we become conscious and manifest that. Such is the definition of art for Manavi Prabha. The first ever International Kala Mela, organised by Lalit Kala Akademi, in collaboration with, and at the Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts (IGNCA), is celebrating the world of creativity. Stall number 232 exhibits the artwork of Manavi Prabha, titled “Conscious Me”.
Displaying a set of five paintings, dedicated to nature, Manavi is asking the audience to invoke consciousness towards clean air, water, energy, etc. The first painting of the series, portraying the artist herself, is a painting depicting the artist from neck down till the knee, showing her back, where the hands are resting, entwined, and the fingers, crossed. “It is simply an attempt to invoke consciousness. I have kept my fingers crossed because I am really hoping that people will get my message.”
The thirst of Chatak
‘Clean Water’, another of her paintings, displayed at the stall, draws from nostalgia. Her grandmother had once told her about the ‘Chatak’ bird. “It drinks only the rain water and if it does not get it, the bird prays to Lord Indra and he makes it rain.”
Manavi has turned that memory into a painting. “We are not privileged enough to drink the rain water, because before reaching us, it becomes polluted. We have to purify it before consumption.” This painting has been done to invoke consciousness towards clean drinking water.
Her third painting depicts a flute, with the dandelions flying around it, to raise awareness towards the requirement of clean air.
In another painting, the artist is celebrating clean energy. The painting shows a broken chair, a dilapidated book and the leftovers of a bitten apple. The primary technique used is chiaroscuro. “It was a difficult piece.” The apple was added later on. “I ate eleven apples to get one in this shape, to paint.” The tiny seed of the apple is the main subject. “It depicts the idea of another birth, of using energy from bio-mass as the primary fuel for most of the things in life.”
‘Deforestation’ has been inspired by the sculptures made by her, and also by people cutting down the forests. The painting shows a family of trees, a mother, father and child trunk, holding each other from behind, tightly. Here, she is asking the public to save the forests, and to plant more and more trees.
The medium used is oil on canvas for all her paintings. “Acrylic dries up really fast, but oil paints give you time to edit, to make your brush and imagination lingers a bit longer.”
Power of art
She really believes that art has power to change the world. “It was there long before people even knew how to write. Art, I believe, is the beginning for everything great in this world.” Her inspiration comes from the books she has read and the music she listens to.
“Before I start painting, I play my mother's collection of old Hindi songs. Music is indispensable when it comes to the beginning, but after a while, I get so lost in what I am working at, that I forget that it is even playing. Art makes me lose myself and then find myself.”
On being asked about something like a writer’s block, she says, “I get painter's block all the time,” she laughed. “I have this brilliant imagination in my mind, but when I start painting, I find myself incapable of copying it down the way it is. Sometimes, I do not know what to paint and sometimes, I have no idea what I will end up making. It is strange. Once I am done, my work surprises me. ‘Has this really been painted by me?,’ I wonder every single time.”
Calling her work autobiographical, she says, the most challenging part about being an artist is to make the audience understand your piece. “If it is abstract work, then the onlooker has a liberty, but if you are making something specific, you have to ensure that they are understanding what you are trying to say.”
Currently, she is working on a series of paintings called ‘Heaven on Earth’, in which she is celebrating the unnoticed but simple and the most beautiful moments of life. “I am pretty sure people will love it,” signs off Manavi.
