Memories enshrined

Artist Manisha Parekh’s work might look very abstract for the viewer but on a closer look they will find layers of narrative tucked away in a large canvas. According to her, every artist reflects what they see and feel. “It is an individual journey reflecting the society that we see. But in another level it is very personal too. And for me that process is very important to achieve creative satisfaction.”

Having well known painters Manu and Madhavi Parekh for parents, Manisha grew up among paints and brushes. But art was never forced upon her. “I am blessed to have creative parents who have their own individuality. My parents have always been very supportive and encouraging during my growing up years. It was my decision to join M.S. University in Baroda to study art. They never interfered with my choices. I also never had the baggage to prove myself as an artist because my parents were well-respected in the art world in India as well as internationally,” shares Manisha.  

She is known for her experimental style whether it’s the minimal, skillfully executed works in ink and gouache, her intricate layered pieces on board, or her more ambitious works in the area of conceptual, site-specific installations. “The essence of my works has always been the fluid rhythmic structure I create,” explains Manisha.

She continues, “In my recent collection titled ‘The Home Shrine’ (wood handmade paper and silk) series and ‘A Chant’ (watercolour paintings) on display at the capital in a group show titled A Tale of Two Cities - India and Sri Lanka, I seek to engage with the idea of the ‘shrine’, absorbed by the sensations experienced while walking through the sites of Anuradhapura and Varanasi. In an act of artistic play (or even abstraction), the work first interrogates, then repositions how the historical, political and economic circumstances that frame the living sacred site becomes articulated as ‘the shrine’ — an abstracted materiality embodied in an intensely personal interpretive vision of spatiality and sense of place. I also dual on the notion of the ‘personal shrine’ also bringing into focus a conceptual empowering when considered in terms of the individual wresting control over the imagination and practice of the realm of the spiritual.”

One of the founding members of Khoj International Artists Workshop, an artist-led society aimed at promoting intercultural understanding through experimentation and exchange, she believes in providing upcoming artists a platform to explore their creativity. Talking about what she does when she is not in her studio, she shares, “I love designing and like to do embroideries. All the cloth embroideries in my artwork are done by me. I do not outsource them. I also love to interact with my fashion designer friends about the new aspects of the craft. It’s a great source of inspiration. I also love to read and see what my contemporary artists are doing.”