CHENNAI: With a goal to take art to another level and to be able to inspire the present generation to value art, Sathiyaselan Gangasalam, a transportation designer, has come up with his first solo exhibition, Flow It In, in the city. “The reason for calling it ‘Flow It In’ is simply because I want people’s thoughts and ideas to flow in as they look at any piece of art, because art is where ideas and innovations come from,” he says.
Sathiyaselan rues that though there are so many technological innovations being used here, and most of them are from China, Korea, and Japan. “There is not one product that is ideated, innovated, executed, tested and validated from India,” he adds.
He feels that art and design are not valued in the country, especially down South and that artists who know and understand technology in our country are very rare. “The idea and innovation behind developing any technology has art associated with it. The root of all innovations is art. So it is important to give it the value and appreciation it deserves,” he avers.
For his exhibition, he has not followed any particular theme and they are all just a flow of his creativity. “None of my art works are pre-planned or structured. I use a canvas, colour pens and draw a couple of strokes and scratches to create what’s there in my mind,” he says.
Sathiyaselan has a unique way of giving a background to his pieces. “I usually give the canvas and colours to the children and let them do whatever they want with it. I just keep watching and at one point, I pull the canvas away, take a look at it and take out the frame that I like the most from that piece and that becomes the background to my artwork,” he smiles.
In school, this artist was equally good at academics, sports, arts and literature. The IIT-Delhi graduate, who now also trains engineering graduates to go to design schools, expresses his frustration with the education system in India and also people’s aversion towards art. “I am a father of twins and they are interested in arts too. I will always encourage them to pursue it if they want to. I will not force them to become engineers or doctors for society’s sake,” he vows.
His inspiration is Leonardo da Vinci, and wishes to become an artist like him in future. “He lived his life king size. His work was appreciated so much and he came out with so many innovative ideas. Did you know the first helicopter was sketched by him and he did so without knowing the basics of engineering? He was a master of everything. I wish to use art in the right way and motivate people to innovate more,” he says.
The exhibition is going on till July 21 from 10 am to 8 pm at Focus Art Gallery, Alwarpet.
For details, call: 24986611