Paintings of Ghazali Moinuddin adorned the walls of the M.F. Hussain Gallery at Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi recently as part of the exhibition, “Amwaz-e-Takhayul – Waves of Fantasy”, manifesting the artist’s love for nature, in shades of red, green, yellow and blue. The show, inaugurated by renowned artist, Jai Jarothia, ended this past week. “I don’t travel to hill stations much, but all the 45 paintings displayed at the exhibition are of the exalted mountains, valleys and waterfalls. I am pleasantly surprised when people come up to me and begin comparing the elements of my paintings with some of the places they have visited. My only reaction is, maybe, because I haven’t travelled to those places ever,” said the artist.
Ghazali, a professor of Fine Arts at Jamia Millia Islamia, a believer of “self satisfaction” which would distinguish an artist from a commercial artist, explained, “An artist works for his own satisfaction, whereas a commercial artist works for his client’s satisfaction.”
The landscapes by him depicted nature’s beauty. “When I went to Ooty, and also other places, I saw many interesting things in nature, and I thought, those could be expressed with a lot of freedom,” said the painter. Associated with Jamia since his school days, Ghazali added, “From my childhood, my teachers were convinced about my unconditional interest in painting.” His style of painting could be called unique. They are done with his adept fingers and a tube of paint. “I have used only acrylic tube colours in all my paintings, giving bold strokes, but no definite shapes.”
He said, “I believe, someone who can depict old things in a completely new and different way, and doesn’t need a reference photograph for the same, is a real artist. When the only thing you have is your majestic imagination, and have no other source to introduce, is when an artist’s talent becomes evident.”
“I can’t even duplicate my own painting, because the mood and the way your hand proceeds on the canvas, cannot happen the second time. Since there is no definite shape that I give to my paintings, the minute details become noticeable only when looked at, carefully, and from a certain distance.”
