Artability: Third edition

For several years now, Civil Society has tracked the work of artists with disabilities. We began out of curiosity, but very soon our curiosity turned to respect.

These are artists in their own right, using mediums and techniques over which they exercise complete control. They come with their own sophistications and styles.

They choose their subjects and settings from the world as everyone knows it to be. They don’t shy away from representing life as it is whether in nature or urban settings or in vignettes of rural life.

So it is that we call our annual collection Artability. This is the third year and we are presenting  eight artists. What we offer is but a glimpse. You could, however, follow them from here and undoubtedly discover much more of their work.

Artability builds on the Beyond Limits exhibition held by Preeti Johar of the Family of Disabled. We covered it as an event for a long time. The exhibition takes forward the work of Preeti’s father, Dr Rajinder Johar, who suffered from quadriplegia after an accident and founded Family of Disabled.

 

Pictures of despair

Anjum Malik 

Anjum Malik, 37, is an artist of deep despair. Her style is characterized by an ability to weave dark narratives. These are marked by the symbolic presence of crutches in many of her works. In one of her paintings, she uses two crutches to depict oars on either side of a boat that is placed precariously in a surreal setting.

Her subjects are usually people, especially women and their bodies that lack agency in a man’s world. Drowning in despair, the tragedy of warfare and struggles of womanhood are some themes and images that come through in her art.

Her chosen medium is oil on canvas, which she has used to create more than 50 paintings. She has a master’s degree in fine arts from Jamia Millia Islamia and lives in New Delhi with her mother and sister.

 

Inspired by nature

Rishi Datta

Taking a look at Rishi Datta’s artwork is like stepping into a world of all things bright and wonderful. He draws his inspiration from nature and it shines through in his landscape paintings which have been his constant companions since the age of six.

His choice of vibrant and lively colours attracts immediate attention and is typical of his style. He is skilled in detailing.   His work, Tree of Life, shows  his love for nature. He specializes in acrylic and watercolour but also goes beyond paper and canvas with his ability to work well with glass, clay and wooden blocks. Rishi also dabbles in abstract art and a bit of folk painting that represents diverse cultures from across the world.

Rishi, 26, has Down's Syndrome and lives with his parents in Noida, Uttar Pradesh.

 

Images of rural life

R. Venkatesh 

R. Venkatesh’s art is like a window to scenes of rural India. It is a celebration of realism. His focus is on rural life, where simplicity and spirituality intertwine. Bold strokes and outlines create depth and dimension in all his subjects — temple architecture, women, children and the rural marketplace.

One of his most striking paintings depicts a typical monsoon scene where a smiling mother  shields her children from the rain with her sari. Detailed strokes bring out the effect of a sheet of pouring rain covering the three smiling figures.

He works with oil, watercolour and acrylic but his main medium is oil.   

Venkatesh has been affected by speech and hearing impairment since birth. He has a diploma in fine arts from Mysore University.

 

A queer vision

Ritika Gupta 

Ritika Gupta,28, is a queer artist with disabilities whose work reflects her situation.

She primarily uses digital as a medium and is an illustrator with Revival Disability India, an online platform dedicated to people of the LGBTQ+ community who also have disabilities. Ritika is autistic. 

While Ritika does use acrylic, ink and watercolours as well, her principal offerings are in digital where homosexuality is her main theme.

Women kissing, men holding hands, lovers in the city  are themes that come through in her work. There is an underlying defiance in all her creations.

 

Scenes from Rajasthan

Murari Soni 

For Murari Soni, art is a way of connecting with his Rajasthani roots. He was only eight years old when he began sketching and drawing. His subjects were either the traditional matka or the khilonewali — scenes typical of his village.

Years later, his skill as an artist has grown but his subjects have remained the same. A good example of this is his work titled Khilonewali, where she is the focus of his painting, standing out against the backdrop of a lively village setting. 

Murari is mostly a self-taught artist even though he did seek training for a year. His chosen medium is acrylic on canvas.

Murari, 43, is speech and hearing impaired since birth. He lives with his wife and two children in Nawalgarh, Rajasthan.

 

Spiritual symbols

Devanshee Srivastava 

For Devanshee Srivastava, mandala art informs her identity. It is also her biggest strength and perhaps her friend too. Mandalas are spiritual symbols that represent the universe and are also used as a tool to  establish a safe space that supports meditation. This is exactly what it does for Devanshee. 

Her chosen medium is Staedtler pencils for theme-based patterns typical of mandala art. She also dabbles in oil on canvas occasionally, in which case she draws inspiration from nature or chooses to focus on contemporary, abstract themes.

Devanshee, 20,  has been diagnosed with 85 percent intellectual disability. She lives with her parents and elder brother. She is sitting for the NIOS exams at Tamana Study Centre in New Delhi.

 

An eye for the abstract

Soham Das 

A blend of abstract designs and bright colours defines Soham Das’s work. His first encounter with art was when, out of curiosity, he picked up a box of rangoli watercolours at the age of nine and painted a tree. There was no looking back.

He taught himself, starting by using the small tags attached to the price tags of new clothes or soft cardboard boxes, dipping them into paint and pressing them down with precision to create his kind of art.

He always starts by applying a base colour to his canvas or 300 GSM paper, letting it dry and then continuing painting. He paints every day at the same time for 90-120 minutes, while listening to music — he likes all kinds of music from Rabindrasangeet to rock.

Soham, 14, was diagnosed with autism and ADHD at the age of four. He is based in Kolkata.

 

Everyday reality

Shweta Singh Arya

Bold strokes that display depth are typical of Shweta Singh Arya’s style of art. She has the unique ability to weave mundane details of everyday scenes into her creations, giving them a life-like appeal and leaving a lasting impact on the viewer’s mind.

She works with oil on canvas and also loves to sketch, making her collection a balanced mix of black and white bracketed by regular splashes of colour, depending on her choice of theme.

She often ponders the many roles that women are required to play in society.

Shweta is 33 years old and has speech and hearing impairment since birth. Based in New Delhi, the artist has a bachelor’s degree in fine arts from College of Art, University of Delhi.