Matters of Heart With Paramjot Walia
Megha Joshi
Art&Deal : How would you describe yourself as an artist?
Megha Joshi: The same way I would describe myself as a person. Which of course, is not always as others see me, so it’s difficult to articulate. As for my practice, it’s experimental – mercurial, obsessive and constantly changing.
AD: What art do you most identify with?
MJ: I don’t identify with any of the “isms”. I’d say the art I most identify with is “Original”…it is for the art writers to put it in context of tradition, style and genre. I like to believe I am coming from a place of Truth, creating what I think is beautiful. I draw. I am trained as a sculptor; I love repetitive assemblages in large scale and installation too.
AD: You are one of the few artists who defy the odds and let your work speak boldly on some sensitive issues. Please comment.
MJ: Thank you for the kind words. Of course there are odds but I never consider them within the boundaries of my creative space. Such worries are for later. If one cannot be unafraid in one’s artistic expression and be sensitive to the issues that affect our fellow beings, then I find this calling worthless.
AD: Do you face any hurdles while touching the sensitive issues?
MJ: When you engage with religion or gender, there is always a chance of being misunderstood – “blasphemy” and “obscenity” allegations are all the rage these days. The “sensitive issues” are so called because everyone is not united in opinion and belief. Those who may feel offended are always the ones I will vehemently disagree with. I have had a brush with right-wing goons on motorbikes when I displayed my work “Thy lotus feet”. It was a shrine-like structure made of slippers; it was to critique the absolute power of all kinds of institutions that are made by the very people who are then abused by them. Someone called it “chappal-temple” without bothering to ask me about the work…you can imagine the rest.
AD: You have been noted as calling yourself a quasi ritual artist. Please elaborate for our readers.
MJ: No, no. That term is for a series of works I did over two years, while trying to see if I identify with the religion I was born in to. I have rebelled against certain rituals of Hinduism that I think have out-lived their validity. At the same time, there are certain practices that do have specific outcomes, even if one takes away the literal meaning ascribed to them. For example, repetition as is seen in “japa” or mantra recitation shows neurological changes over a period of time. So I started using this practice of repetition in my work. A sort of meditation, a quieting of the mind. In some works, I would spend two months sticking forty thousand incense cones with absolutely no pre-ascribed meaning – performing a mock or quasi-ritual, not quite the real thing. Some works utilized all the materials of ritualism in biomorphic forms. It was an enlightening lesson in material, meaning, identity and self.
AD : Do you ever find yourself in a creative dry-spell? If so, what do you do to find yourself again and create new work?
MJ: I never run out of ideas – I am constantly envisioning works. I have scribbled notes of more works than I can realize in this lifetime. But in the execution of them, I have frustrating dry spells. That’s because I am sort of bi-polar and my compulsion to be an artist is equaled by my compulsion in fulfilling the other roles by which I define myself. Even then, the creative angst and frustration of not having my hands in mouldable materials keeps me engaged.
