ByIANSlife

December 29, 2021 (IANSlife) Santanu Hazarika has carved a name for himself in the world of visual art, being one of the fastest selling artists on the NFT platform, in a record time of 37 secs. His art is instantly recognizable and has a spontaneous recall value for trademark affinity towards creating fluidic visceral imagery.

His monochromatic visual vocabulary is rooted in popular culture. The iconography is informed by an early exposure to art forms as varied as graphic novels, street art, sci-fi, animé, video games, fantasy, dark humor, metal music and mythology. These influences give form and color to experiences from his life.

'BLCK,' Santanu's first solo display, emerges as an exhibit of a phenomenon that presents a practise that is an enigma of the person who develops visual networks of personal histories, video games, popular culture, and the skill to draw, among an entry of 32,000 from all over the world in 2014. BLCK is expected to be a month-long show of black and white pieces that disturb and question audience assumptions, drawing largely on Santanu's penchant for monochromatic work.

The 29-year-old self-taught artist views himself as a visual creator who transits seamlessly between design projects and art for art’s sake. Hazarika says, "BLCK is an extension of my turbulent existence and the contentment it brings to me. I began my practice using the deep black tones of India Ink, so when you doodle using black ink, the metascape it allows is very graphic. There are no tonal qualities, so you rely on the ability to sketch. It absorbs light. BLCK is a reflection on my artistic practice. It absorbs popular culture into intertwined vines of hands, skulls, human bodies, and images that mirror our minds and the chaos that descends into our bodies from the images that we consume. Emotionally driven and violently molded, BLCK is an invitation into my world of comfortable turbulence. "

Artist Curator Bina Aziz says, "Santanu is the New Age artist in this era of Digital Art and NFT’s. When I first met Santanu, his mind, full of high energy and imagination, fascinated me. His head was spinning with ideas and thoughts that needed to be projected. I wanted his talent to be showcased to the outside world, which is the reason for this show. BLCK is going to be a game changer in the world of art... of how we think and perceive art. It promises to be a fascinating experience for all art lovers as they visit the exhibition and walk through Santanu's mind. He is definitely the artist to look out for in 2022. "

Tarana Khubchandani, Director, Art & Soul, says, "My first interaction with the reticent yet highly personable and charming Santanu Hazarika left me intrigued. As I familiarised myself with his visual language, I found myself further intrigued by his inspiration, his muse, so to speak. Santanu’s powerful imagery stems from a mind that is influenced strongly by the written word, by music, and by the graphic world of video games it inhabits. "Art & Soul invites you to BLCK as we recreate the fascinating mindscape of Santanu Hazarika. "

Date: from 13th January to 12th February, 2022

• Time: 11am -8pm
• Venue: Art & Soul, 1 Madhuli, Shiv Sagar Estate, Dr Annie Besant Rd, Worli, Mumbai, Maharashtra

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