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As our home quarantine continues, we are often faced with a recurring question.
“What do I do next?”
While most of us do indeed need to complete our professional engagements and household chores before we choose to succumb to any such indulgent pondering, we still have much more free time than we ever had in our daily grind during pre-COVID times. It can mainly be attributed to the increasingly diminishing number of first-person social interactions that we are engaging in. Outdoor engagements are mostly limited to grocery shopping and medical purchases, leaving us with ample time to mull over unnecessary things, whilst missing our friends and acquaintances. Also, not being able to venture outdoors as often as we’d prefer, has robbed us of the reason to preen and prep ourselves in front of the mirror. In the absence of any feedback loop, most of us have sort of let go. We have, in a curious turn of events, even loosened up with regards to adhering to conventional beauty standards. With a mask on our faces every time we step out, there is no way we can go back to decking up the way we once did.
In his quarantine-inspired artwork, ‘All dressed up and nowhere to go’, Jayesh Sachdev, an artist from Pune has addressed how vanity is undergoing a shift at a time when human safety and well-being has become the major concern in every step we take.
I. Can you tell us something about your art project?
‘All dressed up and nowhere to go’ is a depiction of the dystopian reality that the world has been thrust into at the moment. The artwork is a symbolic representation of how the pandemic, in affecting all walks of human life, has been a social leveller.
I have tried to showcase how all our pretty draperies and jewels won’t help the cause we are fighting at the moment. More than anything else, the pandemic has brought to the fore, the loopholes in our consumerist culture, which encourages us to hoard items in excess of what we need. It has also mandated that safety is all that matters right now. The best we can do is wait and reflect upon better times, hoping for a better tomorrow.
II. What has encouraged you to move forward in your artistic career? Any artists who inspire you?
Adversity and challenges are things that have always pushed me forward. I thrive within these circumstances . I draw inspiration from the works of artists like Dali, Picasso, Banksy, Antares Yee, and other Japanese illustrators.
III. How has the quarantine impacted you in terms of straddling professional and personal engagements ?
I am probably privileged to not have been directly impacted by the quarantine as many people have. I continue to work from my home studio setup. I have a full working day in terms of creatives, the addition perhaps being domestic chores. I use any additional personal time I have, in drawing and working on personal projects that are usually always kept on the back burner.
IV. Has your work or style of work or even the way you work gone through a shift post-Coronavirus?
My work has often had whimsical references and influences. Human form, particularly the female form has played a significant role in my personal work, both in my paintings and my work as the Creative Director/Founder of Quirk Box. There are often subtle pop culture influences in my work. Post Covid, my works have become more universal, highlighting our shared struggles in a pandemic, posturing as a reflection of society in general.
Having said that, we believe that art is also a means of distraction for artists. We create art in all and any circumstances. However, the scope of art changes along with the circumstances.
V. What all do you plan to do when the lockdown situation is over?
Post lockdown, I definitely look forward to going back to the tennis courts, seeing my family, and travelling.
VI. Are there any Indian contemporaries of yours whose work you admire? (please share Instagram handles)
I love the works of @jasjyotjasjyot, @liquid_ink, @priyankhardikar, @reshidev_rk, @muhammedsajid.n .
VII. Which is your favourite piece of work of your own & why?
It’s a 4ft x 4ft Acrylic on Canvas Nude Painting, titled ‘Nowhere to Hide’ from my show in New York in 2010. It’s the only work I retained for myself from a series of 40 from this collection. ‘Nowhere to Hide’ was a series of my works that got me my first show in NYC as a professional artist. It was also a painting of a muse of mine I thoroughly enjoyed working with.
VIII. One track you’re currently listening to?
For What II - Sohrab Nicholson
IX. Your favourite midnight munchies?
Spicy Banana Chips
X. Your greatest vice?
Ice-cream
You can check out his Instagram here.
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