Journey of Dr Hall 2008
Courses for Horses 2007
Hamgray and Lewis 2007
Nx2 2007
Aaiyyanist 2006
Emoticon 2008
D. Udaiyan - Cambridge Stuckist.
My art is figurative. On the surface it is about exploring the boundaries of what we see as human beings - and what we really emote to as spiritual beings - a link between the base emotions and the higher aspirations... if you will. Most people would agree that this is a broad description of what most artists strive to achieve. I suppose what makes my art my own, is my subdivision of the broader truths. I am attempting to compartmentalise the external reality into my pseudo-Hinduistic frame of reference. As Hinduism is an infinitely broad church (so to speak) - I have essentially two non-finites aspects - reality and spirituality - and I am taking the strands from both, masking the obvious and highlighting the subtleties - and ultimately trying to impose my ever-changing will on both.
So how does one go about this? The inception of my work can be basically described as glimpses of dreams and fragments reworked into a visual symphony of ideas and ideals. (Again, I could add - 'as how most artists start their labour'). What happens for me personally is as follows: early each morning I perform a simple puja and yogic meditation - and it is from these links or strands that the work is inspired. The initial calming of the mind helps me prepare the composition, lead my mind onto a path to where the work will eventually transcend - culminating in the final oily brushstroke marking the end of the dream. This process applies to all my works - from the smallest cartoon sketch to the fully commissioned painting - the process is the same - never changing and endless in its singularity of purpose. (I have a background in religious temple painting but I have gone far beyond that stage now to literally become the 'inner temple'.)
My artistic influences are varied but include past masters such as Bouguereau, Bishandas, Patenier & Sahibdin as well as cotemporary lowbrow artists like Mark Ryden, Marion Peck and Joe Coleman. Of course, it goes without saying that my big Stuckist influences continue to be: Daniel Pincham-Phipps, Ella Guru and Charles Thomson. I am also part of the Indian Artists Network and am currently shifting my consciousness around Renu Iyer and Aloke Kumar Paul.
As for my current artistic adventures - I am simply working on commissions. I work a traditional Aaiyyanist methodology of 'no-like, no-fee, no-deadlines'. If the work doesn't sit well with the client on a spiritual level then there is no obligation. On the flip side this means that I can take as long on a piece as I want - sometimes several years with no obligations from either side. The downside (or upside depending on your point of view) is that I am continually engaged and being pulled in various directions such as children's book illustration, portraiture and commissioned paintings. But as 'they' always say - "The first step, the arduous trek, the final assent and the path home - is and always will be: the art".
D. Udaiyan 2008
No Fear Gallery
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