Revel in the beauty of forest life with artist Ganapati Hegde

“Walking through the woods to my grandfather’s home was an adventure for me as a child. I was filled with a sense of wonder at the beauty all around me. There was no electricity and throughout the day, especially at night we could hear the sounds of forest creatures. Those memories and that sense of nature is what I try to capture in my work,” says Bengaluru-based artist, Ganapati Hegde, who hails from Kumta in coastal Karnataka.

With Nature as his muse, Ganapati is known for the incandescence that marks most of his work. “Bird or beast, flora or fauna — they all find place in my art. It is our duty as human beings endowed with intelligence to protect these hidden treasures of nature and as an artist I depict them in my own way.”

In his bid to connect with nature, Ganapati juxtaposes the behavioural aspects of human beings with animal postures and characteristics. The artist says the series ‘Into the Forest’ which is currently on display in Bengaluru was created during the lockdown.

“There are two aspects to my work in this series — how we experience nature and how nature interacts with itself,” says the artist, adding, “For instance, my painting called ‘Love Play’ which depicts dragon flies mating shows how important the insect kingdom is for the future. If they are destroyed it will affect the food chain of all living species.”

His piece, ‘Look at Me’ shows a frog looking at an iPad is similar to his other works depicting a chameleon on a sofa or a pig on a swing. “With these images I try to capture a feeling of laziness, isolation and daydreaming. It is a throwback to days when I had to stare at a screen while using a laptop for work.”

Ganapti who worked on multimedia, animation and product design projects gave it up in 2018 to pursue his passion as a full-time artist. “My work is not satirical and I do not wish to offend anyone when I give my subjects a persona. It is purely a personal perspective of a person in front of an electronic device and I thought it may resonate with others.”

“I use acrylic and oil, ink and colour pastels to achieve the combinations seen in this series.”

With prices starting from ₹ 45,000, the 20-plus paintings in the series ‘Into the Forest’ by Ganapati Hedge are being showcased at KYNKYNY till Dec 31, 2021.