CHENNAI: When artist Soumyadip Sinha was working in a laboratory in West Bengal, he’d hurry back home every day thinking about what would adorn his canvas. Having secured a Masters in Microbiology, he thought that making a career out of it could help him financially while he worked on his art on the side. “I used to spend the whole day thinking about how I would paint. In five years, I changed three jobs and opted them based on the office’s distance from my home.
I wanted some place nearby so I could come back home early and start painting,” he shares. Soumyadip is now a full-time artist working as the chief illustrator at The New Indian Express, Chennai. Despite the strict deadlines in an industry that requires one to produce sensitive, thought-provoking illustrations, Soumyadip has managed to secure a space to explore his possibilities as an artist, and is now conducting his first exhibition.
A politician striking dirt off the Indian flag spread over a table under which citizens sit helplessly, for an article explaining the disconnect between the people of the country and those who govern them; a man sitting on the trigger of the gun, for an article on violence as a global health problem; a man dipping the tea bag titled Hindi into a large vessel of tea named education, for a piece on Hindi imposition — in all these illustrations, the self-taught artist blends his perspective with the words.
Over the years, he has found a way to manage time and bring out creative outputs. “Illustrations require research on a subject. I usually have to submit ideas for a request that comes in by the afternoon at 7 pm and that is a very strict deadline. To manage that, I started to feel the subject, not study it,” he adds.
Soumyadip committed to the art world when he was almost 29 years old. “I didn’t have an art degree which was necessary in some places for a job. I also thought of going abroad to study but due to financial restrictions, I had to drop that plan.
Finally, I got a job at Anandabazar Patrika. After gaining some experience and making connections I moved to TNIE in 2018,” he says, adding that he spends each day improving his craft. “Since I have no guide, I practice and learn on my own. I feel like with my age and sensibility my work is improving. I admire the works of artists like Pablo Picasso, Michelangelo, Nandalal Bose, and cartoonists like Angel Boligan and try to learn from them. I also read a lot of art history,” he says.
VG Narendra, managing trustee, Indian Institute of Cartoonists who has been following his works came up with the opportunity of the exhibition. By experimenting with different mediums, Soumyadip hopes to continue creating more versatile illustrations. He says, “I didn’t have any plans in the past and I don’t have any plans for the future. I work honestly and with love. I feel that a good artist should be a good human being.”
(An exhibition of his works is on at the Indian Cartoon Gallery, Trinity Circle, Bengaluru till November 18)