Anjana Mehra

Anjana Mehra has studied both at the J.J.school of art and at the faculty of fine arts, M.S.University, Baroda. She has been a professional painter for close to thirty five years. In this span of time she has had numerous shows here internationally and in India. At one of these exhibitions at the Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai, in 1998, the artist spoke with us about her art practice, expressing her views on contemporary urban...

Anjana Mehra has studied both at the J.J.school of art and at the faculty of fine arts, M.S.University, Baroda. She has been a professional painter for close to thirty five years. In this span of time she has had numerous shows here internationally and in India. At one of these exhibitions at the Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai, in 1998, the artist spoke with us about her art practice, expressing her views on contemporary urban life, nature and technology.

1.On art.
For me, art is first of all self expression. we all ask vital questions in our daily lives and answer it in different ways. As a painter I feel the need to get out of the system all the elements that disturb me in my life. It is a form of catharsis.

2.On her subject matter of urban life and nature.
In the city it seems that one doesn't experience anything directly, but only virtually. Nature does not even feature in our experience here. For instance, very few experience the seasons in the city. The rain means just slush and a mess on the streets, whereas for the villager it brings forth life and the sun signifies energy. The man made environment we live in today is probably not the place we are designed to live.

People here rush about with blinkers on, in pursuit of something. One may ask at what cost? They already think about what they would achieve at the end of their lives but then life is to be taken each day, so that you don't miss out on what you should actually be looking at. I feel many of the answers are in nature and in our inner selves and that we are not looking hard enough.

Our experience of nature is disjointed and artificial. One opens the newspaper in the morning and real estate advertisements promise a green paradise in the middle of the city if you can afford it. Even holidays are being sold in piecemeal fashon; They promise you the mountains, the lakes and the rivers and also a television screen in your hotel room! so why leave your home in the first place? Things have become so consumer oriented that it starts affecting the ways we look at life itself and this disturbs me greatly.

3.On technology.
I am convinced that mankind is being manipulated by powerful people. I use the computer image often in my work to show that literaly at the press of a button one can change reality. A reality which is virtual, produced by technology. I am not averse to technology, its fantastic in many ways but we are in danger of becoming its slaves. The phenomenon of cloning is both fascinating and highly disturbing. We are tampering with nature and seem to believe arrogantly that we can handle it all.

4.On the headless figures that recur in her paintings.
This image expresses the mindlessness of the herd. People in any city move about in a mass, working around the clock but how many are questioning things that are happening around them? In this country we accept everything. Life is hard as it is and one does not have the energy to fight. Patience may be a virtue but to what extent? I am thankful that I am a painter and not a commuter rushing about all day. I have the time to daydream, to see what is happening around me and to experience life differently.

5.On her early works
For many years I avoided the human figure in my paintings. My early works were landscapes and were more organic. I was using color powders and erasers to create small drawings.
However, the experience of living in a joint family, the oppresion and the density of the city got into my system and human figures began appearing on the canvas.

6.On her continued commitment to painting.

Many artists have felt the need to move away from painting to other mediums. It all depends on what your needs are. If today I feel the need for a third dimension in my work i will do it. I have in my career moved from water color to oil for certain qualities it has given me. This development points to a growth pattern and at the moment painting best expresses what I think and feel.