When Tanisha Bakshi, 19, scored a stellar 97 per cent in high school, everyone thought she would pursue commerce. But painting has always been integral to Bakshi’s life. Having won several prizes in school for exceptional fine art skills, she wanted a career in the arts.
So, she took up formal training from Delhi Collage of Art in 2014, became a full-time artist and has maintained a studio in Gurgaon.
Bakshi’s creations primarily focus on motherly love in its many forms. The essence of her work can be felt through her painting titled Mahfooz.
“A mother protects and keeps us mahfooz (safe). She nurtures in a way that no one can ever replace or replicate. In this artwork, I have tried to represent such emotions that are shared only between a mother and her child. Mahfooz is done on a mother’s shawl to depict bond with her child."
Her recent collection in charcoal and oil at the 2020 World Art Dubai received exceptional reviews. Here, she used materials that a mother uses while journeying through motherhood. One painting was again on a mother’s shawl and displayed like a scroll.
“Every scratch, every hole and every wrinkle in a mother’s garment has a memory,” explained Bakshi, about her collection centring on projecting life in a slum.
Bakshi also established an NGO Annsagar Foundation in Palam Vihar, Gurgaon, where during the lockdown and even today, over 2500 food boxes are distributed twice a day.