Jackfruit, dosa, thread–the imaginative journey of artist-designer Vishwanath Hegde

Launched in 2014, PhotoSparks is a weekly feature from YourStory, with photographs that celebrate the spirit of creativity and innovation. In the earlier 800 posts, we featured an art festival, cartoon gallery. world music festival, telecom expo, millets fair, climate change expo, wildlife conference, startup festival, Diwali rangoli, and jazz festival.

Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath recently hosted an art exhibition titled Glimpse, featuring the works of Vishwanath Hegde, a designer-artist from Uttara Kannada District. See our coverage of earlier exhibitions at this Bengaluru venue here.

“The process of making art is an experience of satisfying one’s inner craftsmanship,” Hegde tells YourStory. His wide range of artworks are inspired by nature, cuisine, mandala, rangoli, and weaving.

He also displayed wall emulsions on various surfaces. “Artworks involving threadwork were the main attraction for this show,” he describes.

Hegde has always been fascinated by the use of different materials and explores a range of possibilities in his artworks. “Recently, I began working with coloured and twisted threads, and found these materials to be very interesting,” he says.

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Woven threads can yield unique textures, intense colour, vibrancy, depth, and multiple dimensions. “Regular practice and observations of the forms and shapes lead to creative possibilities,” Hegde adds.

“Exploring the world of fruits and food for artistic inspiration is truly delightful. The colours, textures and patterns in traditional dishes can be a treasure trove for creating works of art,” he explains.

Different materials and combinations have unique character, and artists must learn to observe and understand this dynamic. Based on this approach, Hegde has produced over a thousand works of art.

“Till now, I have had two solo shows, six group shows, and four art camps. Each of my artworks depicts the point in time when it was created and reflects my inspiration and ideas at that time,” he describes.

His exhibited works are aptly titled Censored Chopping Board, Censored Spatula, Shrunga, Bubbles, Golden Waves, Feast, Data Plot, and even 10th Cross Dosa Camp and 12th Cross Dosa Camp.

He is pleased with the reception for his threaded artworks. “People enjoyed the exhibition due to the unique media used for art, and we had great interactions,” he proudly recalls.

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“It was actually a mixed experience! Since my medium is new, I was anxious about how it would be received – but people were excited and tried to understand the process of the work,” he says with pride.

The creative journey is not without its setbacks. “Fear, uncertainty, and promotion of art are the key challenges for any artist,” Hegde acknowledges.

“Artists need financial stability to explore their passion. I have worked in the software industry for more than two decades as a UX designer to overcome the financial challenges,” he says.

He is Lead UX Designer at Cloud Software Group, and earlier held design roles at InMobi, Yahoo, McAfee, InQuest, and ZenSutra. He graduated from Chitrakala Institute of Advanced Studies (Bengaluru) and College of Visual Arts (Gulbarga).

“The definition of artistic success for me is self-satisfaction and self-confidence. Awards and commercial success are needed as promotional aspects,” he affirms.

Hegde calls for more art appreciation in India as well. “We need to be passionate about art from an early age,” he advises.

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“It isn’t necessary to always seek meaning in artworks. Instead, we need to try exploring different media outlets and raise awareness about the creative fields of work,” Hegde says.

Based on size and medium, his artworks are priced from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 6 lakh. His next projects include work on more three-dimensional objects with his newly-found medium of threads.

He also offers promotional tips for aspiring artists. “Try to spread awareness about your works as much as possible on social media,” he suggests.

Artists should keep updating themselves to understand the social and technical challenges of digital platforms. This helps with on-going and event-specific audience engagement.

"I believe posts on my artwork and uploading relevant updates have greatly helped me, especially for this exhibition,” Hegde signs off.

Now what have you done today to pause in your busy schedule and harness your creative side for a better world?

(All photographs were taken by Madanmohan Rao on location at the gallery.)