Jatin Das

As Jatin Das sits in the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), Mumbai(2002), surrounded by a retrospective of his works on paper, he talks about his career, recent projects and art appreciation:

On His Work:
The human predicament and human body are my primary concerns, and have been all my life. But this doesn’t mean I have never painted or drawn landscapes, birds and animals. It doesn’t mean...

As Jatin Das sits in the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), Mumbai(2002), surrounded by a retrospective of his works on paper, he talks about his career, recent projects and art appreciation:

On His Work:
The human predicament and human body are my primary concerns, and have been all my life. But this doesn’t mean I have never painted or drawn landscapes, birds and animals. It doesn’t mean that I don’t like them.

I don’t paint to a theme, but towards a direction. Very often my painting process is like a child groping in the dark, hoping to come across what he’s searching for. I really don’t want to explain or find out my creative process, and explore the theory of my work - it’s much too complex a job. I love painting, and there’s no theory to that. Most artists today spend ten percent of the time painting and ninety percent talking about their so-called creative process. I don’t paint for buyers, critics and other artists.

Wherever I go I am absorbing scenes and images from my environment. And this large body of experiences in my head acts as the ultimate source of inspiration for me. People often ask silly questions like what the source of my inspiration is. I tell them I am inspired and influenced by everything! All that I see and experience and feel! I am like a video camera, recording everything I see for future reference. Sometimes I look at my old works and decide to paint something new based on an old theme. Everywhere, actual human beings are also providing me with images constantly. When I was in Kerala, I painted typical Malayali people with their typical postures and gestures. When I was in Cairo and Africa, I painted the people there. The same is illustrated in the Sega dancers of Mauritius and the Balinese women I painted in watercolours. Spontaneity means freshness in one’s work.

Even my surface and media depends on the moment and the place and the image that I am painting! The paper I used for the Cairo ink and gouache sketches reflected the colour of the city. The shades of paint and texture of paper I used for the African series was also reflective of the people there. When I was in Israel, I found a paper that matched the colour of stone in the old quarter of Jerusalem. I select my surface, material and medium according to the concept and figuration of the work.

There is so much movement in my work because no human body is static! Even you are gesturing with your hands as we sit and talk! I depict energy. That’s the basic thing. In my Primordial Energy series, all I have done is reinterpreted traditional Indian iconography. I am one of the few Indian artists today borrowing from India’s own rich culture. I have reinterpreted Shakti, whether in the form of Durga or Saraswati.

When I work it is almost like chiseling. First I use the brush to give me material to work with, and then I use lines to carve out a figure and its inherent energy from that foundation. Like a sculptor finds his final piece within a block of dead stone of metal, I find and bring out the potential of my subject when I draw.

On Art Appreciation:
To be able to appreciate art, one must love all that is related to art. You must be a lover of good music, and even of good food! Appreciating the taste of a good pickle is like appreciating a well-done piece of art. Why do you think people say one has to have a taste for art, a taste for music? It’s an age-old concept. In Sanskrit they call such a person a rasika. It means someone who can take in and appreciate ras, or nectar and all things sweet. There are similar words in the languages springing from Latin. In Italy red wine is called vino rosso! I wish in colleges of art here there were courses on appreciation. I believe that’s the first thing one must be taught! Even art conservation courses. There are so many people who have paintings hung up next to windows and in Mumbai with all of its dust and humidity, that’s the worst thing you can to a canvas! Even here, in the controlled environment of a gallery, some of my paper works are shrinking and crumpling in their frames.

On Exhibiting:
For me, painting is one of the most personal things I do. As I said I don’t paint for anyone except myself. There have been many times that I have torn up and thrown away works that I had painted or drawn, but didn’t like. On the other hand exhibiting is a totally different phenomenon. There are different motives and reasons involved with exhibiting works. For me apart from a forum for selling my works, exhibitions provide a time for introspection and retrospection. It’s a time when I get to see all my work together in one place, and question where I am going and what I am doing. I also exhibit for friends to see my works and to find new friends that I can share my experiences as a painter with. Of course all of these people must be rasiks! They are for me Shadharmis and Shahridayis; we share our hearts and religions. Like soul mates do. But I always exhibit only when I have finished the entire body of works that I have been involved with. For the last three years I have been working on oval paintings. But I wont sell or exhibit them until I finish the entire series.

On Recent Projects:
The government has just given me one acre of land in Bhubaneshwar to build a museum. That is where I hope to house all of these paper works once this exhibition is over. Unfortunately, the government has left building costs to me, and I need funding. I have written already to the UNESCO and other bodies, but there hasn’t been much progress so far. Actually I am giving away and donating all my collections. My Pankha (hand fan) collection is currently going up on display at the Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts. There are more than five thousand fans, and I hope to be ready and open the show in September. I have even given away all my collections of traditional art pieces and handicrafts.