As I entered the gates of the New Delhi World Book Fair 2024, I saw this huge canvas being stroked by a man in a suit with glasses on. Like the rest of the crowd, I had to stop by. And there he was, the artist, drawing some mystical characters on a white background with black paint. His strokes were varied, dark, and greyish, weaving magic into the animal kingdom that is the center of his latest work.
It was a live art installation where the artist painted while people observed, and I was intrigued by how this man did it with so much ease. To be precise, he painted for 9 long days as the world passed by.
So, I stood behind him and asked, “Don’t you get conscious as people are watching you?”
To this, he turned and said, “Well, when I was a child, my grandmother used to cut vegetables and chat the whole time. I guess when you get comfortable with what you do, it hardly matters.”
I wasn’t expecting to hear this, but it explains how gifted he is. Unless and until art flows within you organically, you can’t achieve such expertise.
Just then, I could spot two graphic novels, Purnam and Namaha, with incredible covers that one could stare at their intricacies for hours. The artist’s name, Abhishek Singh, was signed below them.
Who is Abhishek Singh?
Before speaking further, I googled him and discovered that Singh is an Indian Graphic novelist. He is acclaimed for his unique interpretations of myths and ancient philosophies instigating environmental themes, universal identity, and spiritual oneness, evident in his work that I saw just then and there.
Born in Gwalior, Abhishek Singh is an alumnus of the National Institute of Design, where he studied Animation and Film Design. By now, he has three graphics novels to his credit – Krishna-a Journey Within, Namaha, and Purnam. He is the first creator of Indian descent to be published in the history of North American comic books.
Besides this, Singh was the illustrator for the Ramayana 3392 A.D and India Authentic comics. His work spans fine art exhibitions, comic books, animation and virtual reality films, original futuristic fables, and re-imaginations of the mythological stories of India. This includes a virtual reality film for Deepak Chopra and animation properties for Cartoon Network, Honk-Kong, and India.
Abhishek Singh served as an art director on UTV’s Arjun, the warrior prince, for a brief time. He was invited to design a small sequence for Juanjo Guarnido’s “Freak Kitchen” animated video, where he served as a concept artist on several unannounced live-action and animated projects. Cumulatively, his comics have sold over half a million copies and have been translated into Italian, Spanish, French, and English, receiving critical acclaim for their artistic interpretation.
Now, we needed a proper conversation, and that is what followed.
Tête-à-tête with the artist
The installation at the Book Fair had massive elephants, turtles, and tigers and was portrayed very enchantingly. It was a story in the making, and I had to delve into that.
Abhishek narrated about the work in detail in this post:
Have you ever thought of working with Ricky Kej? This was an instinctive question as I watched the Maestro Live in Delhi and was deeply impacted by his music, which stood for a cause – the environment. I could instantly connect the dots and visualize Abhishek’s works in the animation used in Kej’s videos.
“We both happen to know each other and yes, we stand for the same cause. I hope we get to work if the need and calling arises,” said Abhishek Singh.
And man, I will tag him in this post and act as a middlewoman. Fingers crossed.
Why elephants? This was my next question to him as his installation was filled with them. He said that he had spent a considerable amount of time tending to rescue elephants in the Himalayas.
“I have spent some time with an organization called Wildlife SOS where I came across rescued elephants. The human-elephant conflict has led to a lot of damage. These mighty creatures embody the nature within them and cause no harm. They are just defending themselves in times of threat and starving over habitat loss. There is a need to address and understand this issue and I am doing it through my art,” shared Abhishek.
As mentioned on the website, sourcing from an innate sense of Kalpana (imagination) and arduous sadhana (spiritual discipline), Abhishek’s work is a bridge between the drawn temporal and the sacred meta-physical. The fantastic drapes a primordial story-teller through the various mediums he explores. His stories transport you to other-worldly realms of the supreme, ranging within original futuristic fables and re-imaginations of the mythological stories of India.
But where did it all begin? How did he become the artist he is today?
“As a child, I began creating on the walls of my family home with simple white chalk taken from grade school. That was the beginning which led me to studying Animation and Film Design at India’s National Institute of Design. Then I set out to travel throughout the country to experience and absorb the deep, rich stories that reticulate India. To prepare for my work, I also studied the relationship between inner and outer worlds, exploring the Vedic texts, quantum mechanics, botany, neuroscience, my love for Italian Renaissance art, and the many 20th Century scientists and mythologists,” Ahishek shared.
Singh currently lives between his studios in Brooklyn, New York, and Mumbai and the retreats in the Himalayas. The book fair may have wrapped, but his work remains rent-free in thousands of hearts and minds that saw it there. He signed the books with his art so skillfully that everyone was bound to buy a copy, majorly to experience the process.
“There’s something charming embedded in the intricate design of this universe which keeps corresponding with us, imbuing in us a sense of wonder, making us collect thoughts both abandoned and celebrated, making us tell stories. My work in its simplest intentions is a testament to the mystery of life, a journey to the very nucleus of imagination,” he concluded.