Memories on canvas

ManagerAn official of the anti-corruption bureau in Hyderabad, Sastry Sanyasayya is passionate about art too

Sastry Sanyasayya’s abstract landscapes have a childhood story. “The basic drawing by children includes a mountain, sun, nature, house and parents. I used to draw them a lot. The element of the house remained with me,” says the artist, pointing to colourful canvases with symmetrical houses built on top of one another, at Gallery Space in Hyderabad. An avid traveller, Sanyasayya’s paintings are inspired by his memories, surroundings and travels.

His more than 30 acrylic and oil-on-canvas figurative paintings in this fourth solo show are a splash of colour; he loves the dune colours, especially the light pink, on canvas. Done over two years, his works are inspired by his ride on the Punjagutta flyover. “The empty road during the pandemic gave a different view of the terrain. I used to stop to look at the abstract building forms.”

Laying one building on top of the other on canvas, he explored the lines with a play of colour, light and spaces. The landscape is abstract but evokes a sense of community, a feeling that he describes as “an awareness of belonging in this society.”

Sanyasayya’s passion for art, lines and Nature stems from his childhood. “As the son of a railway employee I used to see abstract landscapes in Nature and lines that eventually appeared in the images.” His mother was an artist too and an ardent lover of Anjolie Ela Menon and Amrita Shergill; she painted on gramophone records and did embroidery on clothes.

“ Hyderabad ne mujhe artist banaaya (Hyderabad made me the artist),” says Sanyasayya who had lived in various cities both as a student and later due to his job.

It was a view of a mural by Sayeed Bin Mohammad — the first principal of Jawaharlal Nehru Architecture and Fine Arts University — from the window of his third-floor office in Moazzam Jahi Market, that stirred the artist in him. He would also visit the Golden Threshold building near his office, indulge in conversations with his artist friends, read books on art and visit galleries during official trips across cities. “After work, my life revolved around art and family. My twin interests are like railway tracks that never meet but always run parallel.”

Since his first cave art on canvas (He was inspired by the human and animal forms in earthy colours depicting activities like hunting or living in groups found in Bhimbhetka caves near Bhopal) in the ‘90s to painting abstracts, he has come a long way. His inherent inquisitive nature helps in discovering new art skills. “My inquisitiveness is due to the department where an investigation is the order of the day. Everything starts with doubt and in art too, I ask ‘why’ while understanding new mediums and techniques.”