It is perhaps an indication of just how highly Harshvardhan Kadam’s talent is regarded, that his first graphic novel, an adaptation of Deepak Chopra’s Buddha: The Tale of Enlightenment, was published by Virgin Comics. Ever since he founded his art collective, inkbrushnme in 2007, Harsh has become the go-to guy for projects that require distinctive illustrations and graphics be it comic books, motion pictures, games or a concert tour for a band like Linkin Park. He’s also worked as the art director on several animated and live action films and his latest project an animated sequence for a feature film is being screened at the ongoing Cannes film festival.
For Harsh, art was almost indistinguishable from life, right from his childhood. His father, Vijay Kadam, was well known for his work in Amar Chitra Katha comics while his mother was a professor of art. “I never lived in a home, I grew up in a studio,” Harsh says. “There were no boundaries between the bedroom, living room and studio! We had students coming and going, learning to draw, modelling for dad’s paintings… I grew up looking at my parents draw, inking beautiful pages, giving life to a story.”
Yet, it was architecture and not art that initially beckoned as a career choice. “I never wanted to draw; I wanted to build,” Harsh recounts. “I wanted to be an architect. However, I wasn’t very good with academics and that was what really showed me the way to what I’ll be in love with for the rest of my life (art).”
Harsh’s work today is remarked on for the wide range of styles it encompasses and his “signature” is more likely to be found in the sheer originality of the work. Harsh traces this back to his parents, who never told him how to draw. “I absorbed all that I could, although it was never intentional. It was similar to how you might observe your mother with awe when she’s cooking,” he explains.
Apart from what he picked up through this process of osmosis, Harsh found much that would inspire his art and design work later: Islamic art, temple architecture and the iconography of deities. He travels extensively, and is accompanied by his faithful sketchbook (although he claims that it is the other way round “I accompany my sketchbook where it takes me!”). The country’s rich heritage of stories, Harsh believes, require re-telling in a format that is more impactful in the modern age. “So in last few years, I have designed and illustrated several children’s books, graphic novels, and worked on numerous character designs and illustrations for a variety of projects and brands. But my joy lies in street art, because it’s for the people who don’t have the privilege of checking out art in galleries. Street art also develops social spaces and enriches the quality of life for those around,” says Harsh.
Harsh says his design process, and the tools he uses, change depending on what he’s working on a video game, graphic novel, animated film or murals as every medium demands a different approach to storytelling. After finalising his work on the Cannes feature, Harsh says he will get back to looking for “massive walls” to continue his street art project, Mythopolis. For someone who claims to suffer from SEWD (“Searching for Empty Walls Disorder”), finding an appropriate brick-and-mortar “canvas” must come as sweet artistic release.
