Indian Temple ruins immortalised on canvas

BENGALURU:Indian Vedas draw influences from Western and Eastern cultures, says Nikil Inaya, 22-year-old Indian artist from Hong Kong. “If you look at Indian mythology or sculptures at temples, they depict matriarchal figures and so do other paintings across the globe like the one of mythical character Diana in paintings,” he explains. Nikil tries to portray a contemporary reflections on the Vedas in his work. He is presenting a series called ‘Tunnel through Dust’ at Art Houz, Vasanth Nagar.

“I am an Indian. I reside in Hong Kong, but I visit Bengaluru often for longer stays. Art is a platform where we can transcend the man made boundaries and regions,” he says. The 28 artworks at his exhibition are inspired by Indian temples, especially the one in Belur. He found the ruins of the temple and the sculptures beautiful in their own way. “I saw the ruins lying next to a trash can. They have turned to something beyond recognition. So my work is a fun memory of them. They are not literal depictions,” he says. He has used oil painting and water colour to paint ‘the creative impressions of those memories’. Though he predominantly works with oil painting, he has used more of water colour for this show. “I had tried water colour two years ago and it was very bad. I was disappointed,” he says, adding, “When people see my work here, they think it is all water colour. I have used acrylics, and hence, it looks like water colour.”  

He has named the series ‘Tunnel through Dust’ because sculptures that are made with rocks eventually get eroded and turn to dust. “A few weeks ago, I was travelling in Jammu and Kashmir. I was passing through a long tunnel that was clogged with dust. That's how I got the idea to name the series,” he says. One of his artworks, titled after the name of the series, is a digital drawing that Nikil made on his phone. “I took a print of it and then added it to the show. It's thematically related to the rest of the work.” It shows a swan like boat with art history written on it. The word looks like it's sinking in water. When asked if it means that art scene is diminishing, he says, “People can look at it and form their own impressions.”

To this self-taught artist, a canvas is like a theatre stage. Nikil says an actor should be spontaneous and must not just be able to memorise his lines but also enact seamlessly. “I try to bring that analogy on my canvas. I look at my canvas as a stage and work on it to make it look seamless,” he explains.
The exhibition is on till October 24.