Her lineage may have been responsible for getting her acquainted with the media and the limelight, but, Meghna Oberoi is an artist to reckon with. Veteran actor, Suresh Oberoi’s daughter was in the city recently to exhibit her second collection in the Bengaluru Habba.
“I am very excited to be back in the city and be part of Habba, for the second time to display my collection. I feel that Habba is a great platform for young artists to exhibit their talent and work. It boosts their confidence and drives them to do better,” says Oberoi as she comments about the Habba. She also adds that she is enthralled by the art lovers of the city. “People in Bangalore are very aware about art and art forms. They take time and are patient when studying and understanding the painting before them. They want to know why the artist painted what he or she painted and why they have painted it,” she expresses.
Unlike her previous collection that focused on figurines, her latest collection mirrors her feelings through a splash of colours. Each painting is a melange of colours that seamlessly merge into each other to create a unique piece. Her paintings have a mystical aura about them as they reveal and conceal something while being observed.
It is almost as though the same painting has a different story to tell to different viewer. “Painting for me is an experience. It helps me to explore myself as a person. Moreover it is an outlet for my thoughts and emotions,” says the artist.
Her collection titled Adi, which is a Sanskrit word for ‘beginning’, is a reflection of her inspiration — the universal energy. “The eternal truth of existence, before anything ever was, and after there is nothing, there is and only will be, the beginning. The universal energy is what drove me to create this series,” says Oberoi.
Her paintings have no form or structure, but, are a surreal depiction of endless fluidity that has never known and never understood the meaning of boundaries. “Painting to me is a very spontaneous activity. While working on this series, I would listen to music, connect with its rhythm and flow and start a conversation with my canvas. I do not objectify the canvas or the painting. They are more than just mere media to me. I personify them,” she informs.
Unlike for many, creativity is a channel that helps drain out the negativity from oneself, but, Oberoi says she never touches the brush when she is upset or perturbed. “As a thumb-rule, I never paint when I am affected by something. I don’t do that because I consider ‘paintings as a service’. When I paint and someone buys one of my pieces, the energy from that painting gets transferred to them. Which is why if I were to paint to vent my feelings, the negativity from me would rub off onto the painting and from the painting to the person who adorns it on his or her wall,” explains Oberoi. According to her, paintings are all about transformation of positive energy.
When asked about her fascination for artistry, Oberoi says that she has always preferred her art over acting. “I was somehow never really drawn to the industry. In fact the thought never even crossed my mind, given that I was literally raised in that industry. I knew I wanted to paint and I did what I want to. I studied art for many years and have been painting also for a couple. But I started exhibiting my work only recently,” says the artist, who has is also a trained Hindustani Classical singer. She also informs that her upcoming collection will probably be as colourful if not more when compared to Adi.