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Replicating a painting is an innovative take on an art form which spans thousands of years. The kind of replication that we are talking about here, involves a change from one medium to the other.
Pritish Bali and Rahi De Roy, students of Fine Arts from the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda attempted such an experiment by recreating the expressionist paintings of the 20th century painter, Egon Schiele. It all started with a Whatsapp conversation about the works of the painter himself. The idea was to paint onto a model and set up the environment of the painting in real time, thus bringing them alive using materials and spaces around us.
We ask the student duo more about what encouraged them and how they went about in their endeavour.
What made you choose to create photographic re-creations of the paintings of Egon Schiele?
We were particularly intrigued by his striking self-portraits which, we feel, can be read as a powerful engagement with ideas of gender and sexual identity. The project may be seen as an intersection of several mediums—painting, photography and performance. As we progressed with the shoot, the focus moved away from mere replication of the paintings, to exploring the processes that transform an individual.
Can you tell me what is unique to the process of creating these photographs?
Our project is focused on not just creating a ‘final image’ that looks like the referenced work, but the entire process that goes behind making it. This process, the art of photography in capturing it, and the transformation of the space, all are equally important to us. Hence, the ‘process images’ are as important as the ‘final images’.
What are the challenges you faced while working on this project?
We faced quite a few challenges while attempting to replicate a ‘painting’. At first, we tried to “flatten out” the photographic image by manipulating the painting style, the lights and so on. For example, in the earlier images, we used black outlines to give a two-dimensional effect to the cloth. However, as we progressed, the three-dimensional quality of the “live” setting became something that we consciously incorporated into the images. Besides this, we had all the challenges of a “shoot’’, the time-management, lighting, colors and so on. We did not manipulate the images digitally or use any kind of post-production process as the project was all about capturing the transformation in the moment.
What was the idea and inspiration behind the project?
It started off with the idea that Pritish would ‘become’ the work as he identified deeply with the figuration and the concept. It was around this basic structure that the rest of the project developed. We discussed that there can be different ways of appreciating a work of art. Some may like to read and write about it, others may want to look at it, copy it and so on and so forth. Pritish’s ‘inhabiting’ the world of Egon Schiele’s self-portraits may, at some level, be seen as taking this ‘appreciation’ further. In Schiele’s self-portraits, the nude or semi-nude figure stands alone, glowering at the viewer. Despite recurring erotic themes, the gender, along binary lines, remains ambiguous. This androgyny appealed to us. The lanky limbs and “feminine” postures of the figures in Schiele’s self-portraits deviate from mainstream hyper-masculine imagery. This gender-fluid figuration was one of the main points of interest for us in our project. The expressions, though defiant, also expose a raw vulnerability. The treatment of the skin is so sensitive that the colors and brush techniques make it appear almost as if his skin is turned “inside out”. This vulnerability, this ambiguity and the air of rebellion all seem to evoke adolescence, the painful details of a changing body. In the violence and despair of the paintings, we see the violence of adolescence, when rigid gender roles are imposed upon the individual. In our project, the ‘self portrait’ has again been superimposed onto another individual. The photographs may themselves be seen as ‘self portraits’ of Pritish who has chosen Egon Schiele’s work as a mode to express himself, to play a particular character. It allows him to express his sexuality outside of the available mainstream tropes.
If this wasn’t a college project, what would you do differently?
We would have liked to draw out the project over a more ambitious scale, to have taken more photographs, documented more transformations. Somewhere along the way, the project transitioned from being a replication of the paintings to capturing the spirit embodied by the figures. More resources would have allowed us to explore this concept in greater depth. In order to share this project, we dream of having a physical exhibition with large-scale prints of the photographs which would envelop the space (we have so far shared the images only through digital and small print media).
What’s the impact you would like to leave in the world through your work?
Through this collaboration, we hope to express the raw and vulnerable side of human experience. When one sees something beautiful and tender, one is touched by it. It engenders a certain sensitivity, where you begin to feel everything a little more clearly, a little more intensely. This is the feeling we would like to leave our viewers with. The terrible thing about emotional pain is that it is invisible, the wounds remain hidden within us. Art provides a unique opportunity to share our scars, across nationalities, personalities, even across time. In our expression we hope to resonate with those who have experienced feelings of alienation, those who have felt singled out for their strangeness, and hopefully help them feel less alone.
What keeps you up at night?
Everything. Nights are for scheming, creating, long discussions and long drives. For unanswerable questions, anxieties that arrive with the mosquitoes and magic that’s too shy for sunlight. With regard to work, it’s usually a mix of self-doubt and excitement, and a continuing quest to express our artistic vision (individual and collective) to the world.
What’s your side hustle (if any)?
Well we’re art students so we have our own individual practices going on. We paint, we make illustrations and write ( IG: @pritishbali , @rahideroy) Pritish has done some graphic design. We’ve also collaborated on creating a brand of aquatic-themed bags with a focus on sustainability ( IG: @blueleafshop ) We spent a summer making imaginary insects from trash (IG: @blueleafbugs ) We’ve experimented with film and video art...so lots of different things!
What are your midnight munchies?
Chocolates,Thumbs Up, ice-cream, omelette (not together!)
You can check out their work here.
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