I love the challenge of innovation: Artist Jaideep Mehrotra

Jaideep Mehrotra talks about his love for art and his solo show in Mumbai after four years

What got you interested in art in the first place? Was there an epiphany at any point?
As far back as I can remember. To me, it was like eating or breathing, you don’t think about things that come to you naturally.

What are the thoughts that went into creating ‘Metonymical Subtext’?
It’s my solo show in Mumbai after four years. The thoughts are somewhat like this: we are entering a virtual new world, in which distinctions of reality and fantasy will cease to matter, as more of us will tend to spend time in the virtual environments or cyberspace. The intangible, a maya of illusion, will be eminent. The evolution of man is as incomprehensible as the complexity of his DNA. The devolution of knowledge from books, the written text transiting to the language of the computer, are all manifests herein. The current body of work seeks to coalesce the past with the future. Fusing the painted with the printed or interactivity of the computer with physical act of painting. I am attempting to bridge the expression, while stating that one can’t survive without the other, asserting that, mediums may change but the message always conveys.

It took about three years to put it all together. How was the process like?
The work that was showcased recently at the Tao Art Gallery was both exciting and challenging as it involved a fusion of the traditional techniques of acrylic and oil painting with a digital language of the computer and print in a completely novel approach.  The challenges were the constant reciprocation between the two mediums.

In what ways are you inspired by virtual reality?
People tend to create alter-egos, as the new world has no time to dwell or be attentive to individual needs, but rather participate in popular phenomenon, such as social networking sites. In the opinion of Edward Castronova, author of Synthetic worlds, such electronic experiences are a profound indicator of where the world is heading.  That a growing number of people around the world will be spending more and more time playing multiplayer games in virtual reality both as a form of escape and as a search for meaning. He says “it might be that even games become deeply personal artifacts — more like dreams.”

What are you working on at present?
My present collection is now being shown at Jehangir Art Gallery. The next level I wish to take this kind of work. I love the challenge and excitement of innovation.

Who are your favourite artists?
 I like all artists that challenge the mind in some way or the other.