Twenty-six year-old Amshu Chukki always knew he was cut out for the arts. But, what egged the painter, video artiste and short film maker on to pursue it was an innate passion towards narrating well-weaved tales through video art. Fortunately, for the award-winning fine arts man, the recognition arrived soon enough — the Bengalurean was listed under the ‘Forbes 30 under 30 India’ in the year 2016. Barely a year since then, his documentary film Dispatches was recently screened at the Asia Film Focus 2017 in Singapore this July. In a candid chat with Bengaluru Chronicle, Amshu shares the inside track with us, just as he prepares for his first solo art show in Mumbai to be showcased towards the year end.
Enthusing how it all started, Amshu begins, “My parents definitely had a great influence in my initial interest in art and my initiation to it. My father Sham Sunder is an artist too and my mother Mamta Sagar is a poet and writer in Kannada. While studying art in Baroda, I also grew interested in Cinema and theatre. The amazing faculty in the painting department at the MS University were responsible in giving us this exposure to cinema its history and its branching into experimental cinema and video art. I think all this has definitely seeped into the way I think , work and tell stories.”
With his debut art show on the cards, the days are packed for this city boy. Vouching by how inspirations sprout from the unlikeliest of sources, he shares, “So far, my artworks have been restricted to individual projects and group shows, This is the first time I will be displaying a whole bunch of works together in the gallery. The show will have glimpses of some older work and some new work done in the past two years. I’ve put together observations etched on paper, sculptures and of course video installations.” Amshu is a recipient of Nasreen Mohammadi Award for the best display (2010-2011), Kalpana Reddy Memorial Award in Photography, Bachelors of Visual Arts, INLAKS Fine Arts Award, 2014 and the like. On being prodded about what inspired him, Amushu responds, “I’ve looked at various processes of cinema. It was during my recent visit to Montreal that I got an insight into the architectural spaces in the 60s and 70s. The works are inspired from the sites, the people and probably how it would pan out if we synced it with sci-fi films.”
The preparations have kick-started, but a glimmer of hope that the efforts will pay off keeps the youngster on his toes — and excited enough to give some creative downtime a miss. “There is no really any free time as such, everyday is work day or everyday could be a holiday if I want it to. I am a freelancer so I end up working most days and work is definitely fun for me, there is not much of a distinction between what I do in my life and my work. I take breaks from work whenever I want. Sometimes, I edit on the computer, I draw and play around in the studio figuring out new possible works. I read, cook, watch a lot of movies and travel whenever I can. I definitely will continue making art. I do have some ideas of for future projects but I’m yet to work on them. Though I definitely want to direct a feature film at some point in the future.”
