When fluid art gets a beautiful makeover

While studying MBA at LIBA (Loyola Institute Of Business Administration), Aarthi Goyal realised that art was her calling and decided to pursue it. Later, she enrolled at Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath in Bengaluru. “Joining the art school changed my perspective about various art forms. There were a plethora of mediums that I could work with; it was a different ball game altogether. During my stint there, I identified myself as a surrealist at heart with an experimental mind. Surrealism became a very inherent part of my life. I started making artworks that had a voice and a meaning,” says Aarthi, who likes to call herself an artistic artisan.

She is one of the few artists in India who uses resin as a medium to create abstract pieces of art. “It’s an uncommon art form and I stumbled upon the world of fluids accidentally. I was under bed rest due to a knee injury and decided to explore rare art forms. I did a lot of work with oil and charcoal but wanted to come out of it and do something else. I wanted art to flow and not just something to be hung on a wall. I followed my heart, did some research and came across resin as a medium. My love for fluidity and the ocean led to certain crazy experiments with the medium. I strongly found myself bridging art and utility and finally feel like I found my space,” she tells us.

Resins are mainly used for construction purposes and mechanical needs and the art-grade resin is not very common in India. “We cannot import it from outside the country due to security concerns. But I found manufacturers in India who make resin that was not really hazardous. That said, there are a lot of challenges while working with this medium. The fumes are dangerous and you have to work from a well-ventilated place. If resin falls on clothes, it turns into plastic! Also, there were times when I did not realise my hair was dipped inside the resin container and I had to cut my hair especially when doing large pieces of art. You have to be extra careful while dealing with it and should understand the dos and don’ts,” says Aarthi, who has transformed into a seascape artist.

She creates coasters, bowls, cheese platters, serving trays and more. The artist strongly believes that it’s imperative to work towards breaking barriers.

“I buy the wood and shape it until the edges are levelled and then double-prime it. Mixing the resin is a task as it has to be customised for every piece of artwork. There are endless possibilities in art and the freedom of expression speaks to me the most. I think of art as life itself, the only way to know it is to live it. Sometimes, I have enough to want to give it an arbitrary form and sometimes it feels abstract at best,” sums up the artist.