Strokes of nuts and bolts: Chennai's visionary artist redefining realism through innovation and passion

CHENNAI: An artist who wished to stay unique in his work, an artist who wanted to dedicate his entire life to arts, an artist who embraces contemporary methods to expand his horizons, the Chennai-based Balaji G’s artistic journey began from childhood.

Having started with scribbling portraits of Vinayagar on drawing sheets, he aimed to improvise the art in each attempt. “I joined the Government College Of Fine Arts in Chennai to pursue my passion. And now I have more than four decades of experience in the field,” begins Balaji. “There will always be someone who will be better than us. We have to keep on honing our skills to build our forte and carve a niche for ourselves,” he says. An expert in realistic painting, he wished to do something different.

“I realised that if I do a portrait of a woman, there are so many artists who can do the same. That raised a question on what difference I can make on my canvas. The Nuts and Bolts series is an experimentation, which earned me several recognitions,” adds the 55-year-old artist. “Nuts and bolts are the foundation for any machine to work seamlessly. Even though we are living a mechanic lifestyle because of our bustling life. I wanted to incorporate the same in my art as well. Till now, I have completed around 100 such artworks,” Balaji elucidates.

Each of the Nuts and Bolts artworks takes 30 to 45 days to complete and is strenuous. It includes portraits of Vinayagar, Buddha, Mahatma Gandhi, Mona Lisa and one of his favourite contemporary artists, MGF Hussain. “The Thousand Buddha work took four months to complete,” he shares.

The advent of Artificial Intelligence is inevitable in any industry. And according to Balaji art is no exception. “We can categorise this into two sets. One, the impact of AI will help animators to expand their scope. However, on the other hand, artists who work manually are affected. Overall, the ones who shift to digital format can enhance their skills by embracing the technology. But that doesn’t apply to artists like me,” Balaji states. He added that this situation forces passionate artists to choose a different field to earn their living. Balaji has also assisted art directors in the film industry and takes regular art classes for kids.

His biggest achievement is the appreciation he receives for his works. “Chennai’s art scene has transformed drastically. For budding talents to sustain in the field, networking is crucial. Like how it happens in other cities, we should also conduct many open-space exhibitions in Chennai, which will provide a platform for newbies to understand the field and work on its betterment. When it comes to artworks, realistic paintings are getting popular in the city. I would suggest the youngsters always have a steady income and pursue their passion in art simultaneously,” Balaji concludes.