Artist Bikash Chandra Senapati's latest artworks show his life’s goals and the journey that he has travelled so far.
Bikash Chandra Senapati always had an interest in art. But he had never imagined to make a career as an artist. However, very early in his life, his teachers recognised his potential. In fact, they persuaded his father to take Bikash to an art school to hone his skills.
His teachers’ efforts didn’t go in vain. In class 10, the Odisha-born artist decided to pursue his hobby as a career. To turn his dreams into reality, he studied at SP Government School of Art and Craft in the 11th and 12th standard. Thereafter, he completed his Bachelors in Painting from Karnataka Chitrakala Parishad.
However, soon after completing his Bachelor’s degree, things did not sailed smoothly. His family’s financial conditioned worsened. Due to which, he was compelled to take a break from studies.
“We were facing financial instability at home and that's when I decided to look out for work. But I could not find any job so I started freelancing as an artist for four years between 2013-2017 to support my family and earn livelihood,” he shares.
In 2017, the artist decided to pursue Masters. He took a degree in printmaking from Indrakala Sangeet Vishwavidhalaya in Chattisgarh. There he learnt wood cut and etching techniques. The artist now uses these techniques in his artworks. He recently showcased some of the pieces at an art exhibition at Triveni Kala Sangam, New Delhi.
The exhibition titled ‘Nirupan’ was his take on nature. His subjects demonstrated inner dualities in interactions between human and nature, subtleties in various aspects of forests, disappearance, mystery and tests of self-identification in a developing urbanity. The artist used geometric shapes, such as circles, triangles, squares and rectangles, along with lines to depict his emotions.
Senapati described his recently-concluded artworks as his take on nature. “I observed the nature and tried to present its beauty in my language,” he says.
The artist used wood cut, etching, viscosity and lithography (carving on stone) in his artworks. The artist describes the wood cut technique as an impression art.
"It involves working in layers. In this, carving is done on a block of wood. I have used a roller and black ink since it is a black and white work and added a paper on the wood. I then pressed the surface with a hard material like a bowl so that the impression comes on the surface of the paper,” he says.
One of the artworks, which the artist describes as self-exploration, shows his journey.
“I have tried to put myself as the centrepiece in this artwork," he says. The artwork shows his life’s goals and the journey that he has travelled so far in life.
"The zigzag lines at the bottom of the artwork shows the ups and downs that I have faced so far. I have tried showing that both highs and lows are part of life that help us achieve our goals. Even if I don’t achieve what I aim for in life, I will reach at some point from where I stand today,” he says with a smile.
Though it is unclear where life will take him in the future but looking at his journey, it is certain that he will continue his passion for art despite all odds.