Electric vibes

“I realised that I was alive when a near paralysis struck society,whether it was an earthquake,a man-made holocaust or the rampage by the moral police. I believe in positive action so I took a stand and fought the polls for the little known New Socialist Movement,” says the artist who,ironically,began his political career by designing Modi’s campaign rath — but that was before 2002. Five years later,he was pitted against Modi’s might from the Maninagar assembly constituency.

His undaunted spirit reflects in a solo that casts a positive light on an otherwise dark subject. “Lines in various forms have left an impression on me since I was born. There was the umbilical chord which connected me to my mother. Then there was our family astrologer who read my fate-line and drew up my Janma Kundali. My bloodline and the sacred thread made me feel rooted to my family,my caste,my village,” says Mishra,who hails from a small town in Bihar. “While affirming my identity was reassuring I also felt a kind of bondage,of being tied-down to customs that sought to perpetuate hierarchy and exploitation,” says Mishra who started by painting number plates of two-wheelers and giant-sized letters on sky-rise chimneys.

His high school teacher encouraged him to take up the seat offered to him at the Government College of Art,Kolkata,while subsisting on tuitions and stray billboard work. The big break came when Mishra moved to Ahmedabad to study design at NID and found that he had a lucrative career as a designer. However,his creativity was bridled by the constraints of utility that govern design. Becoming a fine artist was the only way out. “You will feel the current when you look at my paintings in Livewire.”

The works themselves are not obvious statements on Mishra’s politics. He prefers subtle metaphors like birds on telephone wires,a moment of peace in the mad rush of the city. In another painting,we are presented with a Zen moment where the throbbing energy of the sun translates into layers of rose petals a swirl of red—both sensuous yet bursting with energy.

Besides his passion for the canvas,Mishra has also wielded the camera. His three-minute animation film Dharamveer,that reflected on the 2002 clashes in Gujarat,won the National Critics Award at the Mumbai International Film Festival 2004. His next film venture Azadnagar Gulamnagar,a documentary on bonded labourers,bagged the Best Documentary award at the Ahmedabad international Film Festival this year. “My next project is to get youngsters involved in politics,to get them excited about nation building.”

The exhibition is on at IHC from January 1 to 7. Contact: 43663333

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