Artist Gopal Samantray’s works are chiefly inspired by nature. His artistic style evolved after he spent time in the jungles of the KBK districts (the old districts of Koraput, Balangir and Kalahandi of Odisha). His childhood passion for nature, along with his experience of the man-environment conflict in Odisha, would influence his work afterwards. The artist speaks with Kavish Rai on the schism between development and conservation, the loss of animals’ natural habitats and hope in his work.
You spent your formative years around the forests of Odisha. You were able to see the man-environment conflict first hand. Tell us about how the stay influenced your views on nature and your artistic process.
Around 24 years ago, I had spent a lot of time in the jungles of the KBK districts of Odisha. I experienced nature very closely there. The issue of the separation of wild animals from their homeland so that human wants could be satisfied deeply influenced me. For the most part of 13 years, I have been working on the serious issue of how deforestation, global warming, urbanisation and industrialisation affect wild animals, continuously decreasing their numbers. This also disbalanced ecosystems.
What influenced you to work on nature?
Nature is not a new subject for me. Even in my childhood, I was fascinated by nature and by wild animals in particular. In the KBK districts of Odisha, I was able to experience nature in person and see wild animals. After this experience, I joined college, and when I painted, the theme of nature came naturally to me.
What do you have to say about the contrast between development and environmental conservation?
Both are necessary for our future generations. Development at the price of disturbing our environment will affect the future generations. My prime motto is to help people become aware of the situation they are knowingly or unknowingly creating in the dire thirst for modernisation. They always forget the essence and necessity of the things that they are losing in the pursuit of glitzy infrastructure development. They have forgotten that the world will survive when you maintain an appropriate balance between the two opposite forces.
Do you think India’s large and growing population is a detriment to environmental conservation?
Yes, India’s large and growing population is responsible for diminishing natural habitats for wild animals. Frequently, we see wild animals entering human settlements.
What do you think are the chief threats in India to natural habitats?
The growing urbanisation and industrialisation to meet the necessities of the huge population are the chief threats.
Given how much humans influence the natural environment, why do you think that there isn’t as much awareness of this fact as there should be? Why are we losing our connect?
We know about this problem but we are ignoring this serious issue in order to satisfy our dire thirst for modernisation.
Do you think people are nowadays becoming more sensitised to art?
Yes, but we need more awareness in understanding contemporary art.
What’s your take on art by adivasis in rural settings?
Art by adivasis in rural settings reflects how they experience nature, wild animals, their environment and so on.
In terms of artistic style, who or what would you say were your principal influences?
My hard work, my experiments with colour and my experiments with different mediums developed my artistic style.
How would you define hope?
Hope is life is and life is hope for me. I believe in hope along with hard work.
