Uncaged canvases: Mumbai-based artist Anita Goel is bending the medium to depict freedom

Building on her own recent ‘Udaan' series, city-based artist Anita Goel will show her latest artworks in an exhibition titled ‘Avataran' at the Jehangir Art Gallery, this week. Goel, who began work on the former series 12 years ago, says the latter is an extension and culmination of sorts of what she always wanted to depict through her art: freedom and spirituality.

If not for the Covid-19 pandemic, Goel might have showcased some of the pieces in 2020, but she has been able to use this extended time in the last two years to introspect and gain insights, which in turn helped her add elements to the paintings. Through birds engraved on canvases of irregular shapes and non-uniform thickness

Mid-day Online reached out to Goel to learn more about her latest exhibition, ‘Avataran' and why she wants to break the Western academic style popularised by the art school system. The city-based artist also talks about bending the medium, how the pandemic influenced her, and why she prefers the physical gallery experience over the online version.

Here are the edited excerpts:

What is ‘Avataran' all about and how did you arrive at the subject?

‘Avataran' translates to ‘the arrival', denoting I have landed on what I always wanted to express through my art. In this exhibition, I have gone beyond the conforming barriers of the regular shaped paintings. I have ditched the use of the square and rectangular shapes of canvas and have opted for asymmetrical ones to showcase my current works.

The Indian education systems are fast upgrading. However, the art system in primary schools has not evolved since the British Raj, even though it has been centuries since artists have begun to define their individuality in their work. The school system, with its elementary and intermediate art examinations, drills into students a very specific style of art that was revered by the West, known as the Western academic style, and which produces undistinguishable artworks. It is this homogenous style that I am hoping to revolutionise by taking a very different approach this time around.

When did you start working on the paintings for this exhibition? Did you face any challenge while working on it?

The ‘Avataran' series is an ode to, and a continuation of my 'Udaan' series which I started way back in 2009. This series was all set to be showcased in Toronto in two month-long exhibitions scheduled in November and December 2020. But due to the continued lockdowns, they were postponed. However, I am glad that I was able to add-on strong insights and elements to my series during this period.

What is the idea behind depicting birds in the paintings?

Like I said, the ‘Avataran' series is an ode and continuation of my ‘Udaan' series which started way back in 2009. It represents a release from the shackles of solitude, the free spirit, or fly-free ideology. A flying bird is always mesmerising to look at. However, there might be various reasons for a bird to soar high. For example, it might be flying to save its life from a predator or must be starving and may be in search of food, or must be fleeing his motherland and migrating in pursuit of survival but at the same time, the bird never fails to inspire its viewers. An onlooker only gets the impression of freedom, flying high and all things positive. The 'Udaan' series, which captures the flight of birds is a spec of my imagination which also reflects my journey in which I project to the audience different phases of a bird's flight, symbolising freedom, aspirations, resolution and reaching great heights.

Here, my thoughts are deeply rooted in new birth and freedom. Through abstract visual illusions of the soaring birds, I have pushed my thoughts into abstraction as I have tried to explore freedom and spirituality through immersive colours and a varied setup of insculpted birds. Occasionally, I have altered their physical appearance with fragmented effects.

Goel explores freedom and spirituality through immersive colours and insculpted birds while bending the medium in the 12 artworks, that are a part of this exhibition. Photo Courtesy: Anita Goel

What is the medium that you have used and what do you mean when you say you have bent it?

My art goes beyond the boundaries of a canvas. I would like to draw attention to the underestimated power of the canvas itself and the painting tools, hence making the medium more significant. My art breaks free from the cage of stories and reliance on other forms of art and shows you pure formal qualities. In selecting canvases of irregular shapes and non-uniform thickness, I have also created another dimension in a flat space.

The 'Avataran' series is a play of mixed medium on canvas, using oils, acrylics, metal foils, inks, beeswax etc. to reflect various moods. Lying under the various layers of acrylics are insculpts of moulding paste.

I define my oeuvre with strong strokes of paint, polychrome colour palettes, and distinct shapes. The form of the bird is visible in every painting, an ode to my previous series ‘Udaan', and finally arriving at ‘Avataran'. In my compositions, I have enhanced its breadth and depth with a mélange of contrasting surfaces, versatile colour usage, and profound spatial perception.

How is this exhibition different from your previous exhibitions?

You will find that my upcoming show at Jehangir is more experimental than my previous shows. With my art, I aim to deny the Western academic style that was preached to us in our primary schools, which can be seen in my oeuvre for more than a decade.

In this show, I push the boundaries more than I have in the past. There are around 12 pieces of art. The paintings are more experimental than before. They rely on the perception of the viewer, and in this show, by bending my media, I am changing my modus operandi while still retaining particular stylisations. The works of varied sizes, painted on various canvases of different thicknesses and shapes. The medium is a mix of layers of oil paint and acrylic. Beneath the layers are bird forms.

I encourage my viewers to find their own interpretation in my work. Every individual has a visuality that is determined by the social constructs around them. The audience may project their experiences, relationships, understandings or biases onto the paintings. This means that the observer is not static, but an active part of the artwork, or as Alois Riegl called it, "the beholder's involvement/share".

The series is a play of mixed medium on canvas, using oils, acrylics, metal foils, inks and beeswax, among others to reflect various moods. Photo Courtesy: Anita Goel

Has the pandemic in any way influenced the artwork for this exhibition or your artwork in general?

"If you cannot go outside, go inside". On a busy day when we take ten minutes off to meditate, it only enhances our mind power and makes our day better. This long spell of the pandemic and the lockdowns was one similar introspective time in the journey of life. It made me a better artist expressing feelings on canvas, which were never experienced before.

According to you, how has the Covid-19 pandemic changed the art landscape in Mumbai and India?

Artists are all about creativity and expressing their thoughts - breathing life into a plain white canvas is what we do, and not necessarily about how much a piece of art sells for. Sales are a by-product of good creation by the artist. I have never worried about that. I create and I create and create. Sales will happen whenever we share our creations with people who relate to the feelings we have portrayed in our works.

I feel that the art market is also showing an upward trend since people are not only investing in art but want to now enjoy their art since more time is being spent indoors. And the demand for positive, vibrant and uplifting art is only growing.

The pandemic changed the way people view exhibitions as they could also see art online. Which mode do you prefer for people to view art?

I feel art is best enjoyed in person in order for the viewer to get a first-hand look at different textures and aspects of a painting. Of course, given the pandemic, it is extremely important to uphold social distancing and other preventative measures. We have all been fortunate to have so much technology at our disposal during these tough times, so we can continue to enjoy all art forms online as well.

‘Avataran' by Anita Goel is an ongoing exhibition at the Jehangir Art Gallery and will be open for public viewing till January 3 daily from 11 am to 7 pm.