Digital strokes

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Cerebral Shutters by the artist

Harsha Biswajit’s artistic endeavours swing seamlessly over the traditional and the post-modern. The son of one of Chennai’s most creative and artistic couples — Shalini and Biswajit, it was only natural that Harsha would follow in his parents’ footsteps. But a Bachelor’s degree in Economics followed by a Master’s in International Political Economy steered him into the world of academic practice.

Nevertheless, the young lad is pioneering a unique style, popularly referred to as ‘digital art’. Digital art is typically created using graphics and printed digitally and has elements of digital photography, photo-painting and digital collage involving mixed media. Harsha’s works combine photography, acrylics, oil on canvas, graphic and digital art in an amalgamation that leads up to some very interesting and eclectic works.
The artist in Harsha found a platform when he was pursuing his higher education abroad. “If we really have to go back in time, my beginnings in art were through textbook doodles as a student. In the four years that I spent in England, visits to various art galleries and shows forced me to take my work more seriously and develop my own style.”
While Harsha would not like to put a label on his style, digital work is what he mostly dabbles in. “For me, digital art is anything that involves technology. One can actually paint and then work digitally over the same painting. The possibilities are limitless.”
With Salvador Dali for inspiration, Harsha’s work stands up for what he believes in. “I don’t believe that artistic expression should be just about aesthetics. It must be a reaction to something and should reflect the artist’s values,” says Harsha. It is no wonder then that at the Art Chennai Summit this year Harsha had exhibited a series of four digital prints and a video installation inspired by a dream and called it Art and Money. “It’s not about the money, it’s about the art,” he says.
Coming from a home where art and artists thrive, what has he taken from his parents? “There’s no denying that my parents are an inspiration. We may not understand each other’s medium technically but we are always encouraging each other,” he says.
Confessing that there aren’t too many proponents of digital art in India, Harsha is now all set to find like-minded peers with whom he can share his work and exchange feedback. “It’s very important to have like-minded peers with whom one can discuss the craft. That is one of the reasons why I am pursuing a Masters in Digital Fine Art at the School of Visual Arts, New York,” he concludes.