The Ethereal Art of Resin
The vivacious splash of colors, the sleek shine and the ability to engulf one’s feelings are the hallmarks of true resin art. Hailing from Bengaluru, Abhigna Kedia’s passion for a complex medium like resin inspired her to create beguiling pieces of brilliance. For her, the unpredictable nature of the art and her thoughts, which she pours on the base, create a reflection of her.
A born artist, Abhigna holds an advanced diploma in Advanced Diploma in Art & Design from Srishti School of Art and a degree in visual arts from Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath. Her abstract art expresses her inventive views, which she leaves open for interpretation, making each work very personal and emotional.
In a Q&A with Marwar, the artist reveals her love for resin art and her future plans.
How did you come to know about resin? How did you learn and pursue this art form?
When I was studying in college, I worked with a similar medium called fibre glass for a project and then in 2016, I came across a shredded newspapers artwork by Rameshwar Broota and the medium he used was resin. That work resonated with me a lot and I decided to experiment more with this project.
So for three years, I was practising with resin as it’s very tricky, you need patience, it’s laborious as the process is quite long and especially with my work as there are 9 to 12 layers in each piece. The environment needs to be controlled, there’s a lot of dust issues and it’s very unexpected, that was a challenge.
Why resin? What was the connection with the medium?
The end product, the shine that you see, for me personally I can see a reflection of myself in the painting, in normal paint, you will not be able to see that same effect. It’s very meditative and is a lot of fun once you start working, you can bring out work of different levels because everything’s in layers and you get to differentiate between each of them.
How did your childhood shape you? Do you feel that you’re a natural artist? You’re doing so well right now.
I don’t know about doing well or not doing well but since the very beginning, I think it was in my DNA. When I was young my mom would do little drawings on newspapers corners and I think you try to be like the one person that you look up to the most. During school I was not a very bright child, I didn’t excel in Maths or Science but Biology as there were a lot of diagrams. I think I knew I had to do art then.
When asked about how her family feels about her achievements Abhigna said “They are very proud, my parents, family, in-laws and especially my husband is very supportive because it’s not a one-man job, without their support I don’t think I would be able to do it.
You exhibited your work at the Jehangir Art Gallery recently and your exhibition was named the “Dance of the elements” can you give us some insights into that?
It’s very difficult to get a chance to exhibit at Jehangir and thus was a very big deal for me, so my first solo there is always going to be close to my heart. The whole collection is about the five elements and my connection with the elements. So the whole 5 elements become a rhythm that we recognize from beyond our understanding. For me, it was just like a dance floor, and me dancing to the different explorations that I had.
Do you have any advice for new or amateur artists?
I think the first and foremost thing is belief in what you are doing and why you’re doing something. I think nice or not nice all of that comes much later; it’s just creating for yourself first and believing that creating for yourself is enough.
Next, is to keep on creating, the whole process of creating with all your heart and things will just fall into place.
What do you look forward to next?
I’m looking forward to my next 2 shows, one is in Milan from the 6-9th of February. I’ve created a new line of work for that, so I’m very excited to showcase that. I also have another show in Dubai, so I’m just excited for this year.
