"Being an artist is addictive, almost inescapable" says the articulate and multidimensional artiste Chirag Bangdel.
On account of
his demonstrative emotions, ingredients to an idea and substance to the soul that
he offers through his art, we ourselves would not want to escape. Over a small coffee talk, I tried to get a flavor of his artistry and addiction to art.
HE ANSWERS
My First Question I googled Chirag Bangdel and found
various facades of your personality. An artist, a blogger, a musician, a
teacher, a poet, a radio/TV show presenter. I would like to ask this question
to no one else but you, who exactly is Chirag Bangdel?
An artist –
Art, painting and art endeavors are my identity but the things I can do with
music, I can rarely do it with anything else.Music for me is a fascination and
one of the prime reasons I enjoy radio and collecting guitars. As a poet, I
write every so often and also organize ‘South Asian Poetry Festival for Peace (www.southasianpoetry.com) an annual poetry festival.I have
been an educator for almost 15 years now. As a blogger, I am not as frequent as
I should be.
It’s very
important for artistic person to explore different mediums to avoid
repetition and monotony. So, I reflect myself as a creative person and every
facade that I project is undoubtedly a medium to express the art in me in one
form or another.
I get Curious Where does the soul of your art come
from? Out of what do you derive inspiration?
I am a
self-taught artist. The heart of my art is unadulterated with the technicality
and guidelines of how a certain type of art piece should be. And partly it’s in
our genes because that’s what we Bangdels can do best (laughs). My grandfather,
a preeminent artist,Lain Singh Bangdel’sauspices have always inspirited the
artist in me and I seek inspiration from everything I perceive – a life both
spiritual and socio-cultural.
Intrigued Recently (as in early 2015), there was an Art
Installation titled ‘Life begins with Red’ exhibited by you at WaterAid WASH
Expo, held at Nagarkot. What was the concept?
As my second
art project for WaterAid, the subject undertaken was menstrual hygiene which sadly
still is a taboo in parts and nooks of our country while it should be
celebrated as a natural process even higher to ordinary because that’s how life
continues. If people can overlook the simple fact that menstruation is an
inseparable fragment of femininity, of womanhood and motherhood, we have the
right to evoke the thought-process with a tangible form of art.
Getting the details The mediums you used were very
selective. We observed objects like Chairs, Chains, Bowls, Rose Petals, and
Sanitary Napkins etc. What did you want to convey with those?
More than
conveying something, it was aimed at fetching a positive change in the
perspective towards menstruation.
Installation
art shouldn’t be very elaborative. However, it’s quite clear that the sanitary
napkins represent the necessity of menstrual hygiene. On top of that, there
were bowls with red liquid, the potion of life, rose petals and pomegranate
seeds denoting the beauty of nature and a bud of existence respectively.
Another
piece called Red Restriction showcased a Chained Metal Chair with a red spot
standing atop a bed of Sanitary Napkins. This installation crusades for the
ease of accessibility of sanitary pads to the girls in their periods and is a
strong advocacy against the practice of restricting them from entering the
kitchen to the worse - sleeping in cowsheds (miserably which happens still).
The real difficult question What's your (intended) masterpiece?
Have you created it yet or are you on in progress?
At the verge
of sounding obvious, it’s a truth that each of my work carries a portion of me.
I think of my ‘Potrait of a Patriot’ or ‘The portrait of a Lady with the white
shawl’ or installation arts like ‘building a nation’ and meanwhile imagine my
upcoming works and conclude I cannot pick a single gem as all of them shine
equally for me.
(Find his paintings in Chirag's blog here)
Nostalgia What is your first memory of
splashing colors and finding out that this is what you are good at and
passionate about?
I don’t exactly
have a memory; I know I painted since always. However, I do remember when I was
in school in Mirik, Darjeeling; I was so pleased with myself for painting a
brown branch with a sunset background and I could all but control my glee at
that.
Getting nosy? Was this what you always wanted to
achieve? Or did you have something else planned in mind?
At a point
in my life, I wanted to see myself as a ‘Rockstar’. Though that didn’t come
accurate, I have materialized my wish to enjoy the process of my work and with
my 20+ solo exhibitions in Nepal and across the world including Germany,
Netherlands, Dubai and more, I believe in the goodness of occurrences and
surprises life holds for us. Additionally, I consider myself the typical ‘jack
of all trades’.
The essential question What next can we expect from you?
Tell us a bit about the work you are undertaking currently.
My second
collection of Short stories, successor of ‘Mist around the Stupa’ is coming out
soon.
The thing
with art is that it’s growing day by day and so are themes. Currently, I am
waiting for my next muse to stumble upon me so I can captivate the canvas with
my congenital colors.
What if not an artist
A musician,
for sure.
Have you ever dedicated any piece of your art to an individual from your
family or friend?
I have written
poems dedicated to my father.
A specific inspiration you have always mused to take on.
Spirituality
One piece of art by yourself or others, you would like to recreate.
Blue Period
Paintings by Picasso.
Favorite Poem
Daffodils by
William Wordsworth
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Photo Source (LIFE BEGINS WITH RED) : WaterAid Facebook Page, (ARTIST PICTURE) Chirag Bangdel's Facebook Profile.
(Published: ESSENCE Magazine, Vol 04, April, 2015)
You are in me and I am in you. We are in her and she is in him. There has to be a mason somewhere with a capability to build various things out of the same raw material. An illustrator who knows to express one thing differently. 
