WHERE JIMI HENDRIX AND LEWIS CAROLL INSPIRE DIGITAL ART
Sangeetha Devi Dundoo The Hindu JUNE 22, 2021 12:01 IST
Manderley by Vijit Pillai | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Hyderabad artist Vijit Pillai’s virtual exhibition 'The Essential Romantic' is an ode to celebrated music tracks and literary works
A new virtual exhibition of digital artworks by Hyderabad-based artist Vijit Pillai titled 'The Essential Romantic', is on view at artflute.com till the end of June 2021. The artworks are inspired by musicians, writers and poets whose work he has loved.
The artwork that lends itself to the cover photo of the exhibition features a gate, a driveway and overgrown foliage that covers the fictional castle, Manderley. The three-dimensional and multilayered work on German canvas is the artist’s interpretation of the old Elizabethan manor called Manderlay from Daphne du Maurier’s novel, Rebecca. In the first chapter of the novel, the narrator dreams of visiting the country estate at night. But Vijit states that he took the creative liberty to present something more vibrant and not depressing, and hence his interpretation of the manor is in warm autumn hues.
Vijit Pillai | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The artworks in 'The Essential Romantic' were all done in the last two years, and the series of paintings inspired by legendary musicians took shape during the pandemic.
Art, literature and music had shaped his thoughts in his formative years. When Art Flute proposed to bring these aspects together for a series, Vijit took it up: “I can’t say I am extremely well read or well versed in the body of work of all the writers, poets and musicians who have inspired me to do this series. But I’ve read a variety of works that left an impression on me.”
The interest in art and music had stemmed subconsciously in his early years. Vijit recalls his mother painting and playing the piano and his father playing jazz on the harmonica, accordion and the piano.
His exploration of music grew stronger in the 1970s, in the years that immediately followed the iconic Woodstock music festival of 1969. As a teen, he watched movies and heard music on protests against the Vietnam war. So it doesn’t come as a surprise when Vijit pays an ode to Jimi Hendrix’s ‘Purple Haze’ through an artwork of the same title. He experiments with colours and textures to arrive at a three-dimensional quality. In fact, the 3D quality permeates most of the artworks in this series.
Another work titled 'Jabberwocky' alludes to the poem of the same name by Lewis Carroll. “I was fascinated to learn about the idea behind the poem — capturing the essence of the nonsense through sense,” says Vijit who was keen to do experimental abstract work.
‘In her tomb by the sounding sea’, a line from Edgar Allan Poe’s poem ‘Annabel Lee’ becomes an inspiration for Vijit to reimagine the Taj Mahal as a tomb by the waters.
Vijit also pays portraiture tributes to music personalities Steve Winwood and Eric Clapton. There are also personal odes to the women in his life. 'Wonderful Tonight' is a portraiture work through which he celebrates his former wife of 30 years, taking a line from Eric Clapton’s song. 'Ave Maria' is dedicated to his mother, in an attempt to also pay homage to Michelangelo’s 'Pieta' and remember the compassion and warmth of his mother through the different versions of the song ‘Ave Maria’.
Digital art has been a mainstay for Vijit in the last few years and he is in the process of converting his 400-plus works into NFT (non-fungible token) art, and some of them are on opensea.io
FROM DIGITAL TO DEXTEROUS HAND PAINTING
FEBRUARY 05, 2019 15:47 IST
Vijit Pillai re-invents himself with his new art series ‘Maharaja and the Last Supper’
The creative style of Vijit Pillai is one that doesn’t fit into a box. There isn’t a signature style or recurring motif that one easily associates with this artist. His technique and approach to art have evolved over the years, as he felt the need to express himself differently and challenge himself. And his subjects have always been varied. Consider his new series, now on view at Radisson Blu Plaza, Hyderabad. He pays an ode to Leonardo da Vinci’s ‘The Last Supper’ in his own way, paints a Maharaja (with reference to Duleep Singh, the last emperor of the Sikhs), there’s a somewhat abstract rendition of Kajuraho sculptures, a depiction of solitude, a Buddha, and a group of women caught in a swirl during the ghoomar, among other paintings.
Vijit Pillai likes that his art cannot be slotted into a category. He feels that this quality stemmed from being in the advertising industry for more than 25 years, where change is the only constant. “If you want to be noticed in advertising, you should be different. I’ve tried doing that by being subtle, than making my work garish,” he says.
It’s been seven years since he exhibited his work in Hyderabad, but art has been his mainstay in recent years. He’s worked on customised series for corporate clientèle — forts and palaces of India, folk and tribal dances of India, among others. In fact, the ghoomar is an extension of a painting he had done for the folk dance series. “This is the third version of ghoomar and the largest,” he points out.
The current series is a departure from his previous ones in digital art. Nine of the paintings on display have been hand painted, with several layers and textures adding intrigue to the artworks. In the Kajuraho work, the layers work in a manner to resemble cracks on the ground or the peeling away of paint on the wall, lending an abstract quality. ‘Solitude’ came about when he was going through a rough phase and seeking answers.
For this series, Vijit Pillai used his technical know-how of digital art occasionally to conceptualise the framing and colour tones. Then, the long process of hand painting took over. “I’ve used technology as a tool. It doesn’t amount to taking a short-cut to hand painting. I’d say it’s similar to the situation where we began using filters on traditional film cameras,” he explains.
Though he’s been depicting a variety of subjects and his technique has been evolving, he feels he hasn’t reached a happy space as an artist: “Too much of what I paint is for selling. I feel I am not being experimental enough or breaking boundaries. The colours and themes are what would appeal to the buyer to display the paintings in drawing rooms or board rooms. By doing this, I am not being completely true to myself. Perhaps someday I’d be able to express my darker side through art.”
The fluidity and rhythm that one senses in his paintings is a reflection of his love for music. Hugely inspired by jazz of the late 50s and 60s that he grew up listening to, Vijit says music is the cornerstone of his art. “I am aware of all the sounds around me, and when I paint, it feels as though I am listening to music that I love,” he sums up.
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