Shilpa Shanker Narain is an illustrator, visual artist and graphic designer with 8+ years of experience in the professional graphics and design industry. Her body of work centres around conceptual artistic visuals, vibrant expression and detailing in illustrations. Along with a large portfolio of published artwork, Narain’s art and designs have been exhibited in prestigious locations across India including The India International Centre, India Habitat Centre, Bikaner House, Ashoka University, New Delhi. It is her belief that art can rescue a lot that is at stake today because it can impact the mind and the way people look at and understand nature. Art allows us the scope to question our beliefs, and opens a window for fresh ideas to stream in, she feels.
Born and brought up in New Delhi India, Narain is currently based out of Manila, Philippines. Narain is a practising and performing Dhrupad Vocalist.
Self-taught or art school?
I am a self-taught artist, had always dreamed of going to art school and had a clear shot at making it to one of the best are schools according to my instructors, but due to some technical calculations could not qualify to sit for any art school entrance examination in my country. I went into depression and it was a few years before I got back to my love for illustration and visuals. I later upgraded my skills through online courses to learn Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator and started working in the digital medium.
If you could own one work of art what would it be?
One of the geometric abstracts by Sayed Haider Raza.
How would you describe your style?
My style is the Indian contemporary, strongly rooted and inspired by the Indian aesthetic. However, my interpretation is a reimagination/deconstruction of mythology in light of my concerns about the ecology and environment. My style is based on strong line work which is done by hand. I like to see depth in colour and layers in my artwork.
Is narrative important within your work?
Narrative is the primary tool of my artwork, which often involves decoding, reimagining and retelling of the same stories that we have heard all our lives in Indian households. In my art, there is an entire cultural background behind imagery, symbolism and simple iconography that I use. I weave age-old Indian mythology and scriptural stories into a visual that gives us space to question our own ideas about them.
Who are your favourite artists and why?
As I mentioned earlier I love the geometric abstract art by Mr S H Raza. His vision is fascinating and it intrigues me how a combination of straight lines circles and color could be so expressive. the use of colour and depth in his artwork is so rich.
Another artist that I have always admired is Indian painter and artist Amrita Shergill. As a woman, she drew out the female thought and it’s presence in the social fabric beautifully.
The work of lesser-known artist Badri Narayan is my latest favourite.
What or who inspires your art?
I recently read somewhere that the mythical can manipulate “a continuous parallel between contemporaneity and antiquity” and find it so true for my work. My inspiration comes from the scriptural texts and ancient literature of India and I aim to reshape and reimagine the relevant realities through my art. This is not religiously motivated art but probably the opposite. I am inspired by the blatant degradation of ecology done in the name of religion, so I go back to the same stories and re-examine and reveal a pre-religious thought that may have been the basis of it. I wish to bring out the natural connection between human and divine; over the years the two have been rendered completely dissociated by religious propaganda and imagery.
I am also a practising and performing musician and I have realized that my musical practice and meditation often feeds into my artwork.
Where’s your studio and what’s it like?
My studio is in my home, two humble desks set up in a line together, one for my pencil and line work with my pencils, black pen and art paper, on the other I have a digital set up of a laptop, external screen and my trusted Wacom bamboo tablet and stylus. I have my parents photographs on the wall right above my table so I can see them every time I look up. My studio space has minimum distractions and is a simple and ordinary room.
Do you have any studio rituals?
My studio space is an orderly and organized space which lets me be experimental, and edgy in my world. It is where I work for hours without looking at the time so there is no clock or watch here so I can maintain a true and genuine sense of timelessness which is very free-ing. I have unscheduled long hours and I enjoy my hot tea while I’m working and it more often than not gets cold because I get lost in the work.
I cannot work without having a bath and my daily round of Shambhavi practice. I indulge in an hour of music practice to bring my thoughts together.
What are you working on currently?
I am currently working on a series of commissioned artworks for a book on the principles and practice of an age-old musical tradition called Dhrupad. The work involved creating visuals and art to represent abstract ideas, analogies and examples as pedagogical tools for teaching music in a Guru-shishya (disciple) parampara (where the teaching is passed on not through a written curriculum).
Where can we buy your art?
Through individual enquires through my website. www.studioantarartma.com