Drawn to art

ISSUE: 129

It took winning an international doodling championship for Santanu Hazarika to take the leap into pursuing a career as a visual artist

Which have been your most memorable projects?

SH: While almost all the projects I have done have had their own appeal, I think one of the most memorable projects would be the one I did in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture. I curated and participated in a special art exhibition where I tried to highlight various underground artists practising alternate mediums of art. Starting from street artists to doodle art to digital and glow art, I tried to bridge the gap between the new forms and the traditional audience of arts, while bringing the northeast region of India into focus. It was a huge hit and a major eye-opener for the patrons as well as the audience.

Tell us about your association with Ritviz.

SH: Ritviz is one of the biggest pop stars of our generation and creating album art for him is one of my biggest projects so far. Working with an artist like him is actually a very liberating and exciting process. He trusted me to give his music a ‘visual draft and then gave them the options for the next two, after which I was able to combine all the elements from the three designs and come up with the final design.

How has social media impacted the connection with your audience during the pandemic?

SH: Indian pop culture is headed towards a new era, with the internet boom and more power given to creators and artists, not only in the conventional form but in hybrid forms of local and global relevance. Street culture, lifestyle, sneakers, hip-hop, garage/ footwork, and skateboarding, just to name a few, have become household words. The hybrid Indian subculture has become a commercialized pop culture over the past few years and is growing stronger and stronger.

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