Kirann Telkar

Relationship is the basic premise of your work, could you please elaborate on that.
When I say ‘relationship’ it is personal as well as social. It is about the man and the life he lives. In today’s context the key factors in our lives are information technology, globalization, consumerism, these impact human relationships. I am interested in how it causes changes, and evolves the society.
Here it is not about...

Relationship is the basic premise of your work, could you please elaborate on that.
When I say ‘relationship’ it is personal as well as social. It is about the man and the life he lives. In today’s context the key factors in our lives are information technology, globalization, consumerism, these impact human relationships. I am interested in how it causes changes, and evolves the society.
Here it is not about personal issues, though at times my personal relationships may be involved in it but invariably I seem to move on to the society at large to analyze and understand the issue. It is about the larger context. It is about understanding, religion, socialism, and man - woman relationship. It is not about good and bad but rather about understanding the causes and effects that affect humans.
So one could say that for it is the totality of a relationship that is fascinating

In your current body of works you have distilled your repertoire of images few elements as opposed to your earlier body of works where they’re many elements.
I have been on this journey for the past 7 to 8 years exploring and translating ‘relationship. Earlier it was the relationship and its variables in different context were the pre-occupation. How a relation changed with time and individuals. I drew from life around me, every element every form had a significance that I wanted to introduce in my works. The intricacies and complexities of the forms fascinated me. It still does but in today’s context I am more interested in looking at the causes that bring about the change than change itself. It is the why of things that intrigues me. And in that process I gradually began using only a few elements. There is a lot of repetition of the forms, but in each work the context if different.

Play of layers has always been a part of your works – you have done paintings with multiple layers and even in your latest series though on a single surface there is still a lot of layering.
The process of painting by using layers is one way through which I express the multiple aspect of my subject. The subtlety of the semi transparent layering brings a rhythm and creates the desired atmosphere for my works.
In my recent works I have painted on canvas but continue to use layers, but here the play of layers may not be apparent but it is an important part of my process.. I build my colors through a series of layers. My colors progress from a multi color to a single tone of color. It is this that gives a variation in my tones. When I look back after having finished a work, I feel the process was almost meditative

You do sculptural installations as well as paintings; what has been your experience
I am a self-taught artist and when I started working I did not have the conditioning to be a painter or a sculpture. I just wanted to express my thoughts, and I drew from my experience and the life around me. Everything around me was full of creative possibilities and a form of expression. I created sculptural installations and paintings. Installations allow me to work with large space, volume and depth; whereas in paintings I explored the sublimity of depth in a two dimensional space.
I feel in context to my works that both the forms complement each other.

You have always titled your works.
It takes me many days to complete a painting; I spend many hours with each of my works. During this time there is a dialogue between my works and me, I bond with them. Once the work is complete the titles come about quite naturally. The titles add to the work and enhance the atmosphere.