Illusions are not just a figment of one’s imagination. When presented to the world through art, they find more takers than any other art form. For someone who has made a name for himself in 3D illusion art and fibre glass sculptures, artist Akash Choyal claims to be the first Indian artist to have used triographics in contemporary art. “My first 3D ‘My Arena’ was created in the year 2008. It was a result of two years of R&D. I was in love with 3D visions from my childhood,” he recollects.
His sculptures in fibre glass, fibre glass murals superimposed with acrylic black and white drawings and video at the fourth India Art Fair impressed art lovers and critics both.
The artist started with three-dimensional art before moving to sculpture. “The fibre sculptures are much older. In the beginning, I worked on plaster and later shifted to fibre glass as it is long-lasting,” Akash tells us.
His triographs don’t need to be seen through 3D spectacles. “In most 3D, we are able to see it through red and blue glasses whereas here you see everything with 3D vision. Most paintings are 2D and in these Triographs, one can see the painterly elements along with 3D depth,” says Akash, who earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in painting from Vadodara’s MS University’s Faculty of Fine Arts in 1997.
Talking about the motivational factors behind his works, the artist traces them back to his childhood days. He says, “A child in his imagination or dream confronts abnormal imagery which are just attenuations or distortions of images around us. In my drawings I attempt and create such imagery through my intuition and inner world.”
And it’s not just the transformation of pen and ink drawings into triograph which is tricky, “but it is the creative process which has automatics of passing through various phases and suddenly emboldens an artist with courage to confront all odds”.
“While working on ‘Aurora’, I even went through depression. But my spiritual instincts always helped me get out of such difficulties,” he adds.
Planning to work on 3D short duration films, the artist says he takes inspirations from others around him. “There were two artists at the Art Fair 2012 with their 3D works who were an inspiration. Most of them worked on photographic technique while I created my own figures, imagery and the milieu and that makes me different and distinct,” he signs off.