Behind the Plate | Annu Gupta in conversation with Chaitya Dhanvi Shah

CDS: What drives you to select your subject?

AG: My work is all about what I see in my neighborhood. It may be the development of metro lines or the vertical growth in my city and all over the world.

It is happening around me and I am watching it day and night. The change in skyline always makes me wonder, whether the water tanks on terraces are more in number or the towers around each changing lane.

CDS: Your works have trees, pop objects, birds and animals, and the city and its architecture. Can you explain your love for these characters? What do you want to say through these elements?

AG: Yes, I find it interesting how these creatures adjust to human needs. I observe they are not complaining. They are just adjusting to survive by either making nests on high hoardings or feeding on roadsides. We can find monkeys resting peacefully on high terraces while drinking water from those tanks.

Their high energy level inspires me to grab their playfulness, who always tries to pep in the concrete world. This is portrayed through the juxtaposing of green with grey concrete, symbolic of creating a balance between the two.

CDS:  Why Printmaking and not painting? What is so special about printmaking that it attracts you? And, what is your technical USP?

AG: Printmaking is a beautiful medium to express. The linear quality and tonal variations fascinate me. There is a mystical combination of technique and image-making. Most importantly, the editions, though limited in number, can be at many places at a time.

In my etchings, one can find the play of tones with aquatint. The subtle and soothing tonal variations make my image complete. And in relief, one can enjoy the linear quality and tones created through lines.

CDS: How to admire your work? Apart from technique, the subject is your key. How would you like to explain your perspective to someone looking at your work?

AG: My work reflects my surroundings. Our environment is for all living beings, whether it is a developing or a developed city. All the elements are correlated to daily life, which reminds us of the basic instances happening in and around us.

CDS: As an art lover, what should I look for in your prints?

AG: Perspective. It has been witnessed from a different point of view through the ages but the approaches are different while depicting perspectives in Indian and Western art/society. In western art, from the renaissance period onward till the expressionist era, the perspective was seen through the fixed window or looking from the distance. Whereas, traditional Indian paintings and miniatures have always fascinated me due to their approach (perspective) of highlighting the main subject through the compositional elements either in terms of size, color, or position in the pictorial space.

With an understanding of both (Indian and Western), I developed the idea of perspective and have been privileged to accommodate both where ever it gives me effective compositional value; to be specific, where on one hand the buildings and roads are adapting westernized perspectives, on the other hand, the ‘Gurraiya’ which is going to be extinguishing species of bird takes the center stage and become the icon of whole species.

I can say that this is something which is my very own and can be enjoyed in my work.