Artist Of The Week | Satyarth Singh

Lists, lists, lists. The list of lists is endless. And as much as we love to pay allegiance to the format that won the attention of a digital generation (even as it became a millennial punchline) its well-meaning shackles felt too tight for a truly free-wheeling look at ‘artists’ in the contemporary Indian context. So without straying too far from the intent to observe, display and share, we decided to carve out our own little space on the internet—an online gallery if you will—to showcase the never-ending plethora of Indian artists who continue to spark fires with their work.

Pixels will be dedicated each week to individuals who are finding their own distinct voices, sometimes personal, sometimes political but always worthy of engaging with. Mediums have no place here either. Our ‘Artists Of The Week’ range from a luthier from one of Mumbai’s oldest neighbourhoods to live visual artists who combine everything from stage design to animation and 3D mapping installations to deliver staggering live experiences.

...And everybody in between of course.

At 27, filmmaker Satyarth Singh has directed an award winning short film, produced a number of music videos, started his own company and all this after dropping out of college and finding inspiration from within. It’s no wonder he’s our artist of choice this week. His journey began with an internship at Carrot Films, a production house in Delhi. After a year of work, he decided to start Lights on Films, where he initially did work for free as he worked on his first documentary “Echoes”. Since then, he has worked on four documentaries, one action film, “Bridge” that won him an award, online films, ad films and more. He’s also an organizer of ‘Peepshow’, a property at AntiSocial that screens independent films. His passion for film propelled him to learn everything he knows on the job itself, and it’s this motivation that’s carried him into this list. Below, we catch up with the artist to understand his inner workings and motivations better.

What would you describe as your perfect day, right from the time you woke up, until you went back to bed?

Perfect day would be to get up, (not in a city) but somewhere quaint, meet and interact with new people and document their lives in a special manner. There’s nothing better than capturing a moment from someones life and portraying it as my own perception and interpretation. If I could do that the whole day, look at the stars eat good food and sleep, it would be the best life.

What is your first memory of exploring your medium of choice?

First solid memory would be reaching late for my first shoot as an intern, and getting blasted by my Director. It’s never happened since.

What according to you is your best creation yet?

It’s hard to say, but if I had to choose the most influential creation I’d say Alfiya and the Kargil Tourism Film.

What are the three things you are really into, besides your art?

Travel, sleep and food.

What is something that you have always wanted to do, and really look forward to doing it some day?

Scuba diving, I can’t swim (yet) but I am going to learn in 2017 and shoot the under water beauty, specially the whales. Thats the dream.

What is that one thing, that really annoys you?

Hypocrisy.