Bengaluru-based artist Bharti Sagar shares why her current series is so different from her usual work
Bengaluru-based artist Bharti Sagar shares why her current series is so different from her usual work
‘Try everything once’ seems to be the motto of artist Bharti Sagar when it comes to making art. In his career spanning four decades, he has worked in a variety of media, from oil and watercolors to pottery and mixed media. Her current series, Preserving Magnificence, is also a deviation from the abstract and human figures she is known to depict, instead showcasing the wonders of wildlife.
“Every few years, I try something new, be it subject, genre or media. I experimented with metal dust and citric acid and found the results quite exciting on paper,” says Bangalore-based Bharti Sagar, who created an entire show of Essence using this medium in 2017.
Artist Bharti Sagar | photo credit: special arrangement
She has reiterated her use of metal dust and citric acid on canvas, this time on canvas, for her current series Preserving Magnificence. “During the lockdown, we will hear reports of how animals were coming out of their enforced habitats and roaming the streets. I remember thinking about how they were reclaiming their place.”
Her interest grew, Bharati began reading up on wildlife and was surprised to learn how many species are endangered. “I started working on this topic to create a greater awareness of how important each animal is to our ecology,” she says, adding that she has used nature magazines and sites as references for different organisms. saw.
A work from artist Bharti Sagar’s series Preserving Magnificence. photo credit: special arrangement
“I’ve always done human figures and abstracts, so I needed visual information to recreate wildlife,” she says, talking about the series where she covered a diverse spectrum of the animal kingdom. is captured. “Kolas and pandas are my favourites! Not only do they look adorable, but they also display human characteristics,” she recalls of how, as an army kid, her family was stationed in Jabalpur. The house overlooked a valley and they could see deer, rabbits, snakes and birds all at the time. “All those memories came back to me when I was working on this series.”
His friend, the poetess Rukmini Prabhakar, wrote haiku for the illustrations in the Preserving Magnificence series. “It started when she saw some of my work on social media and was inspired to write a few lines. She has now penned verses for almost every work in the series – it’s interesting how she brings out the spirit behind each work with her words. ,
A sketch by artist Bharti Sagar. photo credit: special arrangement
Bharathi entered the arts very early, studied commercial arts at BIET in Mumbai through correspondence at the age of 13, and then continued her education at the Jawaharlal Nehru College of Fine Arts and Architecture, Hyderabad. Images from ‘Sketches over the Years by Bharti Sagar’ can also be found in Preserving Magnificence, a book of sketches on perforated, handmade paper that can be drawn individually.
A share of the proceeds (10%) will go to the Wildlife Conservation Society.
Bharti Sagar’s solo show Preserving Magnificence is on display at Reves – The Art Gallery till August 25.
A work from artist Bharti Sagar’s series Preserving Magnificence. photo credit: special arrangement