Shiva Ravishankar's Poster Series Is A Colourful Ode To The Cultural Vibrancy Of Chennai

Shiva Ravishankar is a homegrown artist whose creative influences draw from a variety of sources, ranging from history to architecture to the cultural fabric of his home city of Chennai. We caught up with the young creative to learn a little more about his art series 'Chennai In Posters'.

Tell us a little about this project.

Chennai in posters, is a homage to the city I grew up in and its culture; which I highlight through colourful posters with captions. The goal of this project was to make art accessible and relatable to people my age, who tend to shun both extremely classical and contemporary art. I stuck my posters on walls across the city so that people walking by would be able to see them and would relate to the themes, which tend to be part of everyday life - taking an auto, getting tea from a local shop, etc.

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

I tend to paint at night while secluded from other people. Nevertheless, in the mornings I rush to my grandmother and mom, my harshest critics, for feedback. I strongly believe constructive criticism helps the creative process and shapes the art we make like nothing else. I create with the purpose of connecting my history to my art as well as embracing parts of my culture that have been ignored or stolen and kept in museums across the world.

A lot of my mixed media pieces tend to be historical in nature as a result, for example: a contemporary portrait of Shah Jahan or one inspired by a Chola Bronze idol. I also try to make art that can convey a meaningful message. I have painted pieces based on acid attack victims and I strongly believe in the feminist cause, which very much influences my art.

What are some of your biggest inspirations and influences over the course of your artistic career so far?

My mother and her Tanjore Paintings. I also take cues from John Singer Sargent’s oil paintings along with Indian history and architecture.

What are some things you learned while putting this project together?

That everything you pass on the road can be art. You don’t notice it until you look for it.

Tell us about a project you wish you were a part of.

Any initiative by the government of Tamil Nadu that involves creating murals on walls.

You can follow Shiva here.

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