“Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine, and at last, you create what you will”
– George Bernard Shaw
Nikhil Inaya is a self-taught artist, originally from Hong Kong whose first debut solo show got the art world to sit back and take notice of the artist’s powerful works of art. For the show, Nikhil on a regular visit to Venkatappa Art Gallery, stumbled upon KK Hebbar’s art works, which inspired him to create this current series of works which did receive a lot of acclaim from artists, critics and collectors, alike. One of the themes for the show is Akasha. Through, Akasha, Nikhil with seven monochromes, or colour fields, depicts the futility and brilliance of this very notion — intermingled to allow the viewer into a journey of spaces that occupy the mind, be it fear, confusion, or a meditation on dreams.
Sketching out the wind is another impossibility he intends to venture into. Thus, through peculiar motifs that have a likeness to those objects, one can associate with Vayu. Titles are not ironic but rather allow for a realisation neither fruitlessly abstract nor dully representative. For instance, the title National allows the viewer to reflect on a seemingly arbitrary panel and perhaps find allusion within the colours to those of the Indian flag, thus subtly allowing an inner deciphering of Vayu.
Agni houses some of the more identifiable motifs in the entire collection, an ultra symbolism of sorts. By contrast, the subsequent element Jala houses some of the more arbitrary and gestural abstractions. Titles in Jala includes sequences foiled to corresponding images, as such, these ironies reflect the tumultuous nature of water. Finally, Prithvi stands as the most grounded, the grossest, the most relatable. Where the landscape tropes are carried on from Jala, they soon are deconstructed whilst elements of the human anatomy are reintroduced and reconstructed into metaphysical portraits. The last in the set, Savior is of a most primordial formature, serving as an apt “end” to the beginning of Akasha. And thus the song remains the same, and the story eternal.
Nikhil not only has displayed his brilliance in selecting apt themes and creating stories and narratives around his paintings, something which is an integral part of extremely well-curated contemporary shows these days, but his way of using colours remind us of the fauvists. About the experience of the show, Nikhil says, “The show marked a successful beginning for me as a solo artist in the city. Lots of artists and collectors visited the show and I am extremely happy with the feedback received. Contrary to market conditions, I managed to sell quite a few as well,” he says. The solo show at CKP concluded last Sunday and one can only speculate that this is the beginning of a wonderful journey for the extremely talented artist.
