‘I write my paintings into existence’

Hema Upadhyay is an upcoming practitioner of contemporary Indian art. After having received the National Scholarship and the Gujarat State Award in 1996, she won the Tenth Indian Triennial in 2001. The same year, she did her residency at Art Space in Sydney and the Vasl Residency in Karachi in 2003, leading up to her collection of works being featured in international auctions. She lives and works in Mumbai, but is currently doing a residency in Pittsburgh, US. She speaks to Yatish Yadav about her work, her philosophy, and travelling all over the globe showcasing her works.k

Beginning at the beginning, how did your journey into Indian art begin?
It was a childhood hobby which was paid a little more attention, developed and pursued further. I was born and brought up in Baroda [home of the influential Baroda School, best known for its narrative-figurative style]. My introduction to art was through my grandfather. I joined the Faculty of Fine Arts in Baroda in 1991, where my sensibilities and language were shaped with help from the practical to theory to personal interaction with the teachers. For me, the first two years, 1991 to 1992, were more about following practical lessons and doing and redoing a lot of things in pursuit of understanding them better. I was learning the skills. The four-year course of study introduced me to a lot different materials for which, till then, I saw no creative purpose or value. A lot of work followed. It was only in my third year of study that I became aware of my continuous
use of these materials, and of the “narrative”, in my work.

How does college help an artist to mature in terms of perspective and technique?
The exposure to different materials, languages, people, teachers and theories made me more aware of my own work and the purpose behind it. And of the language I wanted to use. The seniors from all the departments played a very important role as they would often mix with their juniors. There was lots of exchange happening on various levels, which gave one a chance to look at their works and papers, and even be a part of their open discussions, which would take place in their studios. And one could do this without being a victim to hierarchies and modesty, and ask whatever one wanted to know. That really instilled confidence in many of us.

In fact, I wanted do Applied Arts, only for the craze of advertising and the glamour that goes with it. But that wasn’t to be: I was given admission to Painting, and it took a lot of convincing from my parents for me to join classes. I did, with one condition: that I would reapply for Applied Arts the following year. But I never did.

After having gone on the auction block, do you think that art investment might gradually transform into a professional market?
I guess it is inevitable in this growing economy. Then, again, my area of concentration lies with the creative space of the art market. I don’t dwell on the financial angle at all.

You are thought of as the first artist to meld photography and painting in Indian art. Has this become a personal niche?
Well, this concern also came from being a part of this city; my language changed when I shifted to Bombay in 1998. The language you use will definitely create a niche for you, as it is purely your concern. My first show, Sweet Sweat Memories, spoke of Mumbai, one of India’s largest multicultural metros—hundreds of people migrating to the city, a dream destination that speaks its own rhetoric of Acceptance and Rejection, where the idea of the first is wrapped up with the idea of the second. Here, one is constantly confronting issues related to migration.

I am very clearly playing the role of both victim and narrator in my works. My use of photographs of the self also asserts the position of and for the Real: events, happenings and the body. The body is not a body that faces the camera for a beautiful picture; it reveals the real self. The body speaks of the “real body” which experiences natural changes—like a pimple, a frown, fatness and lethargy—as part of the process of experience.

There is so much space in your paintings. What does it convey?
‘Space’ in my works is an area where you connect the happenings within the works, and then make your own readings about them. And each of my works deals with ‘Space’ differently.

How precisely do you get down to work?
My studio is now packed with works that will leave soon for group shows in India and abroad and a solo in London. My work preparations are never in the form of sketches, but as written ideas that keep developing as the work becomes clearer in my mind. In a sense, I write my paintings into existence.

Who are the buyers of your works?
That really isn’t my concern. My main issue is on deciding on my galleries. I lay a strong level of trust in my gallery so that I can rest assured that my paintings are placed in the right collections across the globe.

How is Indian art situated today in the Western market?
I look at the art scene in India as a metamorphosis, a huge, important change.