Santanu Hazarika: My rebellion is more like a silent scream today

Interview: Artist Santanu Hazarika opens up on his creative process, research and childhood angst that fuels his work and why he is keen on creating limited-edition wearable art. He also talks about his production house BLCK, established in collaboration with Shruti Haasan, and long-term plans for direction

“As a teen, I aspired to own a piece of limited edition collections but they were out of my reach. I want youngsters to be able to afford some of my creations,” says artist and illustrator Santanu Hazarika. The discussion here is about his recent capsule collection of 300 sneakers for Comet, all of which were sold out within two hours of the launch. He intends to roll out special edition collections in collaboration with brands and sees this as an extension of his art portfolio. “Not everyone might be able to afford my paintings but they can buy the shoes or jerseys I design. These might be limited-edition pieces but are within an affordable range. There is an emotional value attached to owning a piece of art and to me, that holds greater value than the price tag.”

Santanu was recently in Hyderabad for the Red Bull Soapbox Race India 2024. A decade ago, the Red Bull World Doodle Art Championship changed the tide for him when he won the contest held in Cape Town, South Africa. Incidentally, that was his first international trip. The Guwahati-born graphic artist recalls, “I was doing badly in my final year of engineering. I took my selection for the world championship as my calling card and was excited to be able to travel; that itself was a prize.” He saw the championship as an opportunity to prove that doodling could take him to places. “Winning the championship gave me the confidence to pursue art as a career.” 

His artwork for that contest was a summary of the essence of Devdutt Pattanaik’s book, 7 Secrets of Vishnu. He spent more time reading books on psychology, philosophy and mythology rather than engineering course material. The artist, whose name is today recognised in the sphere of modern art, says reading is a part of his research rather than a leisure pursuit. “I read with a focus to get something out of it.” He is currently reading Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid by Douglas Hofstadter and is fascinated by how the book explores an intersection of art, science, architecture, mathematics, evolution and free will stemming from the work of mathematician and philosopher Kurt Gödel, graphic artist MC Escher and composer Johann Sebastian Bach. 

Reflecting on his journey, Santanu says, “If I can, I would tell my younger self to be patient. I used to seek instant validation and would get impatient when I did not get an expected outcome. I have learnt that it may take 10 or 20 years to see the desired outcome.”

Growing up in Guwahati during times of unrest when people were under watch was not easy, he recalls. His art, which began with him replicating comic books, fuelled his visual expression and gave him the license to dream. His angst made him question the status quo and rebel, which in turn reflected in his art. “A friend of mine explained recently,” says Santanu, “that a part of me is still a rebel but now it is not about what I do but how I do it. If I have to get from point A to B, I will not do it the regular way but think out of the box. I do not like being normal; my art, the way I dress, the music I listen to… everything is curated,” he says about his search for a distinct identity. 

The rebellious streak in him, he explains, works today like “a silent scream” rather than being “explosive” as before. “I do not like stereotypes and maybe that’s why my art is tough to box into definitions. What I practice is not fine art, not only digital… There is a sense of mystique to it.”

While his art is experimental and he uses varied mediums, it often begins with the basics — putting pen to paper. “There is a sense of belonging and nostalgia about using pen and paper. Ballpoint pens and papers were all that I could afford growing up.” In his large studio in Mumbai, he is currently working on a new series of charcoal and acrylic on paper artworks. “Charcoal artworks are usually of smaller sizes, but I am working on 5X5 and 6X5 artworks.”