Nikheel Aphale’s calligraphy creates a spiritual experience

Aksharscape is a collection of artworks by Nikheel Aphale whose painted letters look beyond their linguistic purpose

In his solo exhibition Aksharscape, artist Nikheel Aphale reflects on his personal experiences through calligraphy as a form of expression. The unusual forms on his canvases are wrapped in nostalgia and encompasses all that he strongly feels about. 

“Usually calligraphy is considered ancient. But in my art, I have used the Devanagari script in a contemporary form; it is the soul of this exhibition.”

Lisa Jain, the co-founder of Artisera, which is presenting the exhibition at Bikaner house, says, “Nikheel’s work showcases thepotential and strength of letters. They don’t need to be written in a legible form, they can be abstract or stylised and yet come together to create a beautiful piece of art.”

Nikheel’s passion for calligraphy and art took shape when he started off as a professional artist in Delhi. “I formally learned calligraphy as a part of my Under Graduate degree in Applied Arts. But it was in later years, I began utilising my free evenings to practice calligraphy.“

“The most fascinating part of calligraphy is that no illustrations or photographs are used; only the letters create visuals,” says Nikheel. He adds that he does not restrict himself to one particular tool while making his drawings. “Along with the traditional tip pens used for kalam calligraphy, I use quite a few unconventional tools including scotch brite, toothbrush, shaving brush, foam, sponges, to create different textures.”

On the use of colour in his work, Nikheel says he uses them to complement his original pieces because calligraphy is not bound by any hard and fast rule against usage of colour.

Many forms, one essence