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Sweta Chandra

Born in Hyderabad on 2nd February 1983, Sweta Chandra is a very promising artist who works with a lot of ‘used’ materials in order to keep them as, the way the artist puts it, the ‘tokens of memory’. Her works are painterly in nature however she uses collage methods to build up her pictorial surface. A conceptually oriented Sweta Chandra is currently a final year post graduate student in painting at Kalabhavan, Santiniketan.

How did Sweta Chandra get initiation in art?

“From the childhood onwards I was interested in making objects from the available materials in and around the house. May father is an engineer by profession and he used to encourage me in constructing objects and doing drawings. However, at that point of time, myself and my dad took it as a fun thing and I never thought that I would be pursuing higher studies in art.”

Then how did she reach Kalabhavan, Santiniketan?

“My aunt used to take me to galleries located in Hyderabad and I developed a habit of appreciating art from a very early age. After my 12th standard, I had a deep urge to learn art but did not have any clue about it. One of my local art teachers encouraged me saying that there are possibilities in art education and he instructed me to join Kalabhavan, Santiniketan.”

How did Santiniketan receive her?

“It was quite an experience. During the first two years we had to do all kinds of art. The ways of teaching in Santiniketan are quite unconventional. The teachers encouraged us to go around the villages in Santiniketan. It was a kind of learning from the real life. In these villages art is every where. Even in their mundane lives they incorporate art elements. Observing these things was an eye opener for me. I felt like finding my true calling as I was interested in constructing things out of the immediate materials. I found my real love for art in these villages.”

How was she trained academically?

“As I told earlier, I did all sorts of art during the first two years. Then I started painting regularly. Soon I found out that my interest lie in making pictorial surfaces using various objects. I started using a lot of collage methods to develop my works. And it was appreciated by the senior artists like Jogen Choudhury. Their encouragement gave me a lot of confidence to continue with my works.”

Modernism and Santiniketan?

“Modernism came to me through art history classes in Santiniketan. The art history department is very rich so is the library. I have gained a lot of insights from the teachers as well as from the books. Still I feel that I cannot do art going by –isms.”

How does she look at her current art practice?

“I play with the negative and positive spaces in my works. I mask negative spaces to bring out the positive spaces. Mostly I use clothes and found materials to create a surface. Creating an illusion using the spaces is my pet idea now. Conceptually, I am doing a lot of object based works. Chair is a form that I like a lot. I make different kinds of chairs using very personal materials. They are the materials that took a different form and shape in a totally different context. But they function as a part of my memory. As I mentioned earlier, it comes as an extension of my object making plays of childhood.”

What is she going to do in the coming years?

“I think I will be continuing with the Chair Project in the coming years, expanding it into new areas of articulation. These days I have started creating an illusionistic space around the chairs using shadows. So I am interested in creating shadows also. Perhaps, I would like to do an installation where a whole room is created with the play of shadows.”

Has she started exhibiting?

“Yes, I have started exhibiting my works. I participated in a few group shows in Birla Academy and in Hyderabad. People have appreciated my works. That gives me a lot of satisfaction.”

What does she think about art market?

“Some of my works have been sold. But I am not thinking about selling any of my works right now. I need to concentrate on working towards the projects that I have mentioned earlier. Market is good. But I am not worrying about it too much at this stage. I feel I need to go a long way.”