Fragile beauty

Niharika hukku draws inspiration from nature to create works of art on ceramics. koi fish, dandelions, landscapes, come alive with her paintbrush

Ceramic painter and artist Niharika Hukku’s introduction to ceramics was through the kulhar — traditional earthenware tumblers — commonly used to serve tea at railway stations. However, her own experiments with potter’s clay happened much later. With a background in painting, Niharika opted for a career in commercial illustration as her day job. “But I always felt a pull towards ceramics. To create form and function out of what is essentially mud was magical to me,” she says. She bid goodbye to her career as an illustrator to focus on ceramics.

Under the tutelage of ceramic artists in Indonesia and Singapore, Niharika later worked alongside many potters in New Zealand and even took a course in Sydney, Australia (which she now calls home). “I wanted to create something that was personal and organic and after more than a decade spent as an illustrator, I decided to focus on ceramics,” she tells us. Today her figures feature fiery goldfish (“they create light and movement in a pot”), parrots, landscapes, a vivid rainbow lorikeet, dandelions, honeycombs, the Japanese koi fish and clouds — all elements that are rooted in nature. Among her recent projects this year was Dreamland, where she worked with five artistes on the theme of memories and dreaming. BeLonging earlier this year showcased explored stories and interpersonal relationships between the cultures in Australia. The Sketchbook series in 2013 consisted of a range of vessels, food safe tableware and handmade jewellery.

How do these themes and motifs find their way into her work “My work is an expression of what I find elegant and beautiful, with inspiration seeded in my observations in nature. I find it intriguing to capture colour and narrative with purpose onto clay,” Niharika explains. She also shares that she is particularly fond of the “expansive skies and diverse wildlife” that she has witnessed in Australia.

The artist makes days and nights one inside her workspace, which includes a garage studio for wheeling and shaping the ceramics, and a “sun-kissed painting room” where she spends her time bringing life into these objects. She says, “While I work long hours, I work at a restful pace, and I often relish in my tools, materials and books.” This principle is one that’s important to her, as Niharika explains, “It is important for me, in my practice, to be authentic and to relish in the process as much as the result.”

Niharika doesn’t just paint the objects that are close to her heart. Instead, “I try and create a connection between illustration and vessel — and focus on the essence of the subject and on what makes it unique, its vivid colour, shape, detail etc,” she reveals.

As an artist, Niharika admits that she does find herself facing creative impediments at times — but she seeks contentment in the process. She states, “It can be challenging as there is only a limited amount of control on the outcome of a fired piece. However, opening the kiln to a finished piece is very satisfying.”

Niharika is in the process of completing a large-scale watercolour on paper. She says, “My current piece is a 5-by-7 feet study of Koi. Each fish takes a couple of hours to complete.” Knowing Niharika, each fish will be perfect. And entirely beautiful.