Why art?
Ishita maheshwari
Open mics
Spoken word helps me to make sense of life and move through the endless possibilities it offers.
Poems
Poems give words to my thoughts and connect me with my story
how does art create possibilities?
Being able to absorb one’s own experiences and environment is gift and sometimes there is an invisible wall that stops us from paying attention.
Witnessing life, engaging with it and harbouring the courage to let it change you can come with various challenges. Art helps me to see, make sense of life and move through the endless possibilities it offers.
Witness It sees when my vision is blurred
It listens when I am full
It unlock words when I am silent
Engage
It moves when I am stuck
It plays when I am bored
It challenges me to learn
Embrace
It holds when I disintegrate
It sits next to me when I am alone
It reminds me when I forget
Inspire
It believes in me
It is gentle with my heart
It shows me failure and triumphs
It celebrates with me
It encourages
Why art?
a home for my inner world
Why art?
a reminder
Looking back at the two paintings from when I was 16 reminds me of the same sense of wonder I feel everytime I make something now. It also reminds me of the fear of moving forward with an idea and my agency to make the choice of doing it anyway.
2009
Why art?
a guiding light
While moving towards a goal sometimes when we look through a zoomed out lens the contents of a day seem disconnected from what we have set out to achieve. Reviewing movement can feel daunting and something to avoid. Word maps have helped me to move with intent and look at the small bits that I can control. These words have acted as gentle guides over the years to uphold my choices and a reminder for the way I want to participate in the process.
Post- it for 2016 - 18 2018
- 19
2019 -20
Why art?
a treasure hunt
While working with word maps in 2021 I realised that there is a voice within me that speaks in hindi which got lost over the years. Till the 5th grade I studied in hindi medium schools. Being faced with the challenge of learning to speak in english when transitioning to an english medium school, I felt embarrassment of not knowing it already and a sense of loss of my voice.
Meeting the lost voice again gave me comfort, balance, assurance and clarity I hadn’t experienced in decades. The sense of discovery from this shift has shown me truth about how I want to see myself and what I want to value.
2021
what does art help with?
Connecting with the body: Consciously choosing to make the body I live in a safe container.
Purging: Channelising the chaos, fear and intensity within.
Showing the mirror: The inner critic showed up with fury mocking the sensory censor, challenging me to find ways to unlock them. The imposter gently arrived ready to unveil the masks of the past.
The inner critic
The imposter
supporting vulnerability: finding peace, power and connection in our humanness.
connection with the outer world what makes art come alive?
connection with nature
2022
Cyanotype method using the sun as a medium for printing on paper. Imagining finding roots in a place through a sketch during a musical performance in an urban farm.
making with nature
During a natural building workshop in Ladakh by Earth building architects an outdoor kitchen was constructed with local natural materials like mud, straw, wood, stone and lime plaster.
Engaging the body and mind: Hands on approach to all aspects of construction.
Engaging the soul: Using mud as a canvas to create art. The process: Capturing different stages of the project.
2022
stories and conversations
Stories: While reading a story about families in Ladakh I found myself wondering how the author saw Nikhat while doing the laundry. I drew her to see and experience the joy.
Conversations: While having conversations with people I am close to I step into a world this another person sees. There is a physical dimension, friends and family and their emotions that live there. To anchor myself that I draw along as we talk.
Lectures: Learning about a person I admire by drawing their face, the words that resonated with me and their story.
witnessing
Letting go: The act of capturing a polaroid comes with a sense of attachment and ownership of the photo and in some ways the moment itself. Giving the polaroids away to the person to help to letgo.
Play
innocence
Pride
Shared guffaw
Mid Chuckle
Heartfelt cheer Surprise Joy
Moments: Being able to see someone, capturing a moment that would otherwise go unnoticed and sharing it with them in a tangible form.
what makes art come alive?
traveling
March 2015, 1st travel sketch, Uttrakhand
2022, Eyes that deceive, Ladakh
2022, Ice water veins of Ladakh
2018, Ancestral home, Lucknow
2022, Longing for the light, Himachal Pradesh
2022, Snow outside the window
thank you
