Like many artists nature drew Pranjit Sharma to the fascinating world of art. As a young Assamese boy hailing from a small village Balikaria, his frequent travels because of his father’s transferable job within the North East India and growing up amidst different communities helped shape his artistic vision.
Analysing people, their way of living, gender divide, and most importantly himself, Pranjit began to depict his philosophy on his canvas. But soon from the colourful zone of painting, Pranjit found himself in the world of printmaking which gave further impetus to his vision. It was after doing his Masters course in Printmaking from Bangalore University in 2016, when Pranjit finally found his true passion.
“After completing my 10th standard, I decided to move to Guwahati city to continue my study further, where I got introduced to the discipline ‘fine arts’ in a brief manner. Fascinated by this, I decided to enroll myself into the Assam University as soon as my higher secondary examination got over. Finally, in 2012 I joined the Department of Visual Arts, Assam University and completed my bachelors in Visual Arts with specialisation in painting in 2016,” elaborates Pranjit about his artistic journey.
As Pranjit learnt the finer nuances of printmaking his artistic expression evolved and he found etching aquatint to be the perfect medium to express himself creatively. The hidden feminist in him experimented with different aspects of woman and motherhood. His work also brings out the hardships a woman has to suffer at the hands of society.
“The primary image of the lady with bulgy figure is a sign of mother and the different charming gestures signified the different social interpretation of motherhood. On one hand I have seen the mesmerizing beauty of different communities and on the other hand, in my pragmatic approach the woman has been brutalized and harassed by the society. At the same time they haven’t got their judicial proclaims,” explains Pranjit about what he tries to convey through his work.
Perceiving society through art
Life may not be black and white, but Pranjit loves these hues to leave a scope for interpretation for the art lovers who could have different versions of what motherhood means to them.
“The multiple production of conception through printmaking (etching, aquatint medium) gives me a prospect to create the diverse replicas of expression from formulated thoughts that have been created on the matrix as a form of composition. Mostly I have preferred to create the images in black and white in my body of creation to generate a suspicious space for the viewer’s interpretation with the works and to counter a distinct question to the spectator that what the term “Motherhood” stands for. Likewise each edition of work may not be predictable according to the formed matrix. Even though we could get a little control over the produced image on the matrix but result is completely out of our hand. The different layers of incorporated method has been decided the result of each edition, which differ from each other.”
Strokes of feminism
Pranjit’s works often make a strong societal on women issues, gender bias and patriarchy.
“As an artist, on one hand I tend to follow documentary approach and psycho analytical on the other, not to reform the subjects, but to capture it through printing medium. My works dwell between the question between various perspectives of the society I belong to and my acceptance on this social perception. These issues are deeply rooted in my psyche which in a way helps me in the process of understanding myself, as the situation of my soil is undergoing through visual imagination,” he says.
Pranjit says his art is greatly influenced by his mother and the society he has lived in which is ruled by patriarchy.
“As brought up by a strong mother, I am so much aware of the emotional, mental stages of the childbirth, nourishment and attachment. But at the same time I am also intertwined by the patriarchy of the society we live in. The gender biasness and equality play a dominant role in few of my works to pay homage and gratitude to motherhood which has been overshadowed by patriarchy sometimes,” he says.
Connecting online in times of Corona
Just two years into the printmaking, the 26-year-old Pranjit is already making waves in the industry with his work being showcased at several international exhibitions. Be it the upcoming International Printmaking Conference in Hong Kong called Impact 11 from September 21 to 25 2020, or the recently held International Virtual Engravist Printmaking Biennial in Turkey, Istanbul, the budding artist is keeping quite busy.
In the times of Corona when everything has shifted online, the trend of virtual exhibitions and workshops is catching up. Pranjit too is making the most of this opportunity by attending such printmaking workshops that gives him opportunity to connect with veterans of the field.
Most recently he has participated in The Spirit Remains Unlocked, a Virtual National Art Exhibition and The Young Printmaker online workshop 2020, organised by Thappad Art Group. The exhibition inaugurated on July 5 is on till August 15, while the 10-day online workshop wraps up on July 15.