MASS MOTIFS

Harsha8217;s work spans several genres8212;from painting to installation to community projects8212;and are often narratives of mass activity. He uses the tradition of miniature paintings with popular and everyday images of comics and folk art. One of his most celebrated canvases titled Mass Marriage is a layered work on the complexity of human relationships. 8220;I felt the phenomenon was very relevant in today8217;s context. The painting focuses on the complex reality where culture, politics and economics get married so to say, to give birth to new value systems,8221; observes Harsha. The acrylic on canvas invited a bid of 6.4 million and topped the sale of Indian works at Christie8217;s Hong Kong auction of Asian contemporary art in November 2007. Harsha8217;s technique of repeated form gives it the sweep of history but also focuses on the many individual experiences that make up the crowd.

The artist8217;s entry into the world of art was rather strange. 8220;I failed in Class 12, so I joined art school,8221; he says. Harsha later did his masters in fine arts at MS University, Baroda where he came in touch with veterans like Bhupen Khakhar, Gulammohammed and Nilima Sheikh, who left a lasting impression on his art. 8220;The campus has a rich cultural mix and it was intriguing to meet senior artists,8221; says Harsha.

Gulammohammed remains an admirer. 8220;His work at the Singapore Biennale was impressive and so was his work at the Kala Ghoda Festival in Mumbai, where he covered a fighter aircraft with khadi. He is a thinking artist,8221; he says.

After college, Harsha went back to Mysore, unlike most of his classmates who packed their bags for Mumbai and Delhi. 8220;I like the solitude of smaller places and am quite comfortable here. I miss out on the cosmopolitan action but one always needs to choose what one wants,8221; he says. In the 8217;90s, the Chamarajendra Academy of Visual Arts alumnus also worked as the head of design at a software company.

His art, meanwhile, travelled the world. In 2006, he was at the Singapore Biennale, creating a site-specific painting installation at the Sri Krishnan Temple. Cosmic Orphans was a grid of sleeping figures painted on the temple top. The next year the avid traveller was at the Shanghai Art Fair, putting together an installation, Nations, that comprised sewing machines fitted with the national flags of 192 UN members. 8220;I wanted to relate the idea of 8216;nation8217; to 8216;labour8217;. The flags merge into each other and the threads create a maze that one cannot walk through without literally getting tied,8221; he says.

Of the works close to his heart is a host of community projects, where he initiated art projects in schools in Karnataka. 8220;It was a learning and sharing experience for me. I always find it hard to teach art and prefer to create a platform to experience it,8221; he says.

Will the award lead to any detour in his journey? 8220;The core beliefs will never change. Art has little to win or lose and awards should be treated as reminders for us to venture out, discover new horizons and be more adventurous. It isn8217;t a thing to settle down with,8221; he says.