Eeshani Mitra’s Latest Piece Of Performance Art Takes Drag To The Streets Of India

Eeshani Mitra’s Latest Piece Of Performance Art Takes Drag To The Streets Of India
Eeshani Mitra

An artist known for crafting theatrical productions, Eeshani Mitra merges unique mediums of art to form some truly dynamic visual narratives. Her work tends to transcend restrictive barriers by exploring the uncharted intersection of art and identity.

Fascinated with public's reactions to her visuals, Eeshani now curates series around the interconnected relationship between art and the spectator. Sharing further insights into her creative process, she speaks to Homegrown about the artists that inspire her and further sheds light on her most recent project.

What are some of your biggest influences as an artist?

I am highly influenced by different modes of media, be it film, animation or illustrations, so my list varies from time to time. Mary Moser and Daisuke Yokota are two artists who act as my main inspiration. I especially love the way Daisuke uses different techniques, be it scanning, printing, or just plain messing around with different film negatives to create visuals. This process goes beyond our conventional understanding of what constitutes a photograph. His photo-book, Berlin, is one of my favourites.

Who are some artists who are currently on your radar?

I have quite a few spread across different fields. In photography, I have Joseph Häxan, Tseng Yen Lan and Tito. Amongst illustrators, there is Anand Shenoy, Angana Kundu, Evelyn and Revant Dasgupta.

Tell us about your project.

The art form of 'drag' has always been considered as one taking place on a stage. In our story, A Night Out, we wanted to experiment with the idea by taking drag from the stage and presenting it on the streets. The idea was to take these heavy and glamorous ballgowns on the road and capture them in public spaces and corners. It was also fascinating getting to see people's reaction to it.

What are some of your biggest inspirations over the years of your artistic career?

I am inspired by a number of artists utilising different mediums like paintings, music, animation, print etc. I love taking elements from nature and its sounds by incorporating them in my own work. Furthermore, certain images from my dreams also serve as a basis of my artistic inspirations.

Describe your creative process and the purpose with which you create.

As an artist, I tend to rely on my visual senses a lot. A huge portion of my ideating process before a shoot includes visuals, be it from different media or from my own journals. I tend to storyboard for most of my projects outlining the colour treatment, elements amongst other things.

I usually like to have a mental idea of the images to be produced out of any project that I end up shooting. My main purpose then, is to bring those images into the physical reality.

Follow their work here.

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