Swain Sitaram confined space through his installation. By Ankita Jain
Art flourishes under the right patronage. Just ask any of the emerging artists who’ve participated in the Glenfiddich Artist in Residence Programme. Every year since 2002 (and 2012 in India), budding artists are invited to participate in this £10,000 residency programme.What it includes, though, is a three-month stay at the Glenfiddich distillery estate in quaint Dufftown, Scotland, and the chance to work on some seriously innovative projects that are inspired by the local rural, yet industrial setting.
Ten artists from across the world — including Swain Sitaram from India, chosen via a collaboration with Indian online art gallery Bestcollegeart.com — have been handpicked for this year’s residency programme.
Amidst a pantheon of newcomers participating in Residence Programme Swain Sitaram stands out with his untitled work which is a painted and carved brick of wall.
Swain, who hails from the city of beautiful landscapes, Odisha, looks at the beauty from a realistic point of view. For him landscapes are not just a natural set-up, but acquire importance and meaning only due to the external influences of politics, economics and social conduct. All these in turn influence the architecture of the place. So architecture becomes the focal point in his paintings. “Architecture is visually challenging and recites the social and political background. I present my own home town Odisha and I’m closely associated with the architectural materials like stones, bricks, cement et al. The visual abstractions in the arrangement and overlapping layers of imageries are the interpretations of human beliefs and myths into the particular space. We find the conceived or unperceived influences that make an impact on people and my paintings represent this juxtaposition,” explained Swain. He further added, “This will be an opportunity for me to widen and explore my creative boundaries outside of my traditional work space. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to interact with some great artists from around the world in the heart of the Glenfiddich distillery in Scotland.”
Emerging Artist Awardee Swain was picked by a 13-strong jury, which included familiar names like Swapan Seth (art collector), Sunil Sethi (president, FDCI), Veer Munshi (artist), Kapil Chopra (mentor, Bestcollegeart.com and president, The Oberoi Group) and Peter Nagy (director, Nature Morte), who had the tough job of sifting through 2,600 artworks uploaded on the website by 810 emerging artists.
They’ve picked well, though. Swain’s got the right art credits. “Our globally recognised forum Artists in Residence (AiR) provides a unique and inspired platform for artists from around the world to showcase their talent and to gain international recognition. India has become a world-class centre of excellence for creativity, given the diversity and talent it houses. Through this programme, we are trying to recognise and encourage the emerging talent of India. We annually host a small group of visual artists from around the globe, who work in a diverse array of media from print and photography to animation, performance and installation. The historic setting, deep in Scotland’s highlands has inspired many amazing artists in the creation of original art work for over a decade,” said Andy Fairgrieve, the global coordinator and organiser of the AiR programme.
Adding to this, Kapil Chopra, one of the jury members said, “We are delighted to host the sixth edition of the Emerging Artist of the Year award. This is India’s most consistent art award and the most important initiative for the growth of Indian contemporary art for the last six years. The award not only seeks out the next generation of artists but also nurtures and supports emerging talent. At the BestCollegeart.com gallery we believe in showcasing the best of Indian art, culture, design to the world and this initiative reiterates our commitments towards the goal.”