EXPLORING TALES OF FARMLANDS WITH SATYANARAYANA GAVARA

by Gopika Pattiyil

Recipient of national and international grants and residencies, Satyanarayana Gavara, through his art, shares a farmer’s struggle and the competition for power that veils their occupation. Often satirical and connotative, Gavara adopts icons from rural practices and folktales to represent the hardships of farmers and the value of food. Food becomes an important theme, which he explores from different perspectives. Earthy shades, often contrasted with bright combinations define his palette, with a keen eye for detail. This is a discussion in curiosity to delve more into the inspirations and experiences of Satyanarayana Gavara.  

Q: Satya, what inspired you to pursue art? Why did you choose food paucity and the challenges of Indian farmers as your themes?

A: Until high school, I was unaware that I would become an artist. It was my high school teacher, who suggested that I follow the path of fine arts. I was born to a family of tenant farmers and grew up watching their hardships. But, at that stage of my life, the value of food never seemed to be a concerning question. 

After completing my B.F.A. in printmaking from Andhra University, I moved to Baroda to pursue an M.F.A from Maharaja Sayajiro University. This marked an important juncture in my life as I was awaited with a shortage of food there. The unavailability of food compelled my mind to understand how precious a meal was. 

This is when I began giving my undivided attention to the theme of ‘food’. Farmers’ problems and the politics in the agricultural industry are other themes I focus on. As I mentioned before, I belong to a family of tenant farmers. Through my art, I began depicting the problems my father faced. 

Later, I started widening my area into a universal question. The problem of a farmer, where they receive the least is a universal concern. This can be understood and related to by all.  

Q: Why did you choose woodcut print as your preferred medium of art? 

A: I always choose a medium and a palette that can convey my art to the audience in its best means. Woodcut print is such a medium where I can depict my subjects immaculately. It suits the types of strokes and palettes I want to create my art with. It is also a comfortable material to work on, personally.

 This is a medium I learned during my period of education. I may use a different medium later as I never began my journey of art with it. Lithography and etching are two other media that I practice on. Senior artists who use woodcut prints to represent social realities became my motivation to choose this medium further. 

Q: In continuation, what are your views on the politics surrounding agriculture in the country?

There exist unseen problems within the sector of agriculture. The facilities and treatment given to the farmers here are sadly poor. There is a political web that controls these systems. I am trying to communicate this control through my art. It may be middlemen who benefit from the profit or those like the landlords. The landlord system, which still exists in India, is a practice I oppose.  It has deep rooted effects on the families of the farmers which lasts for numerous generations. 

I represent the same through my art. For example, the diptych ‘Intelligence of Innocence’ was created in two panels to project the inequitable division of crop produce by the landlord. It is such practices I want the world to be aware of by the means of art.

Q: Artworks such as ‘Rottenness in Beauty’ and ‘Self Realisation’ among many others are emotionally stimulating. Do icons such as a vulture or a tiger as portrayed in those artworks metaphorically represent something in specific? 

A: ‘Rottenness in Beauty’ is an artwork I created while pursuing my Master’s degree. As I mentioned before, I was facing the challenge of food shortage back then. I used the icon of a vulture in the print to personify myself who feasted on rotten food. It was my reality. I considered the stale food on my table the best, when my fate took me there. This print also represents the farmers who are oblivious to the deception that they are going through. They are paid the least for their laborious job, whereas someone else benefits from this. 

However, the farmers are glad and satisfied with the leftovers they are provided with. The vulture also personifies this plight of theirs. In general, I want to convey the politics involved in agriculture, the injustice and the lack of equity that the farmers are forced to face in their everyday lives. These are my reasons and explanations of the artwork. But I always prefer leaving the interpretation of my artworks to the spectators. 

Self Realisation – 6, 2020 
Woodcut on Fabiano (acid-free paper), letterpress ink, 228.6 x 121.9 cm | 90 x 48 in 
Source: Satyanarayana Gavara

Rottenness Covered With Beauty, 2020 
Woodcut on Fabiano (acid-free paper), letterpress ink 
106 x 193 cm | 42 x 76 in 
Source: Satyanarayana Gavara

Q: There are references to agricultural rituals in your works. Do they indirectly point at farmers’ belief systems?

Certain agricultural rituals are considered important. In July and August, preparations for a new cycle of farming begin. A ritual is undertaken by the farmers by dispersing seeds covered in goat blood on their lands to yield a good agricultural journey that year. Symbolic of the sacred treatment given to the occupation, similar rituals appear frequently in my artworks.

It is a language to communicate. The usage of banana leaves, traditional feasts and many more are symbolic of my roots that bridge my narrations and the audience. They have symbolic and satirical meanings also.

The agricultural ritual featured in “Intelligence of Innocence”

Q: There is an immense change from “Rottenness Covered With Beauty” – one of your earliest works to “Anecdotes” – a work from 2024, with respect to the subject, palette, figures, placement of the figures and abstraction. How do you evaluate this change?

A: I have come far from where I had started. At present, the depth of the subject I represent and how I represent it have changed, resulting from a conscious effort. Initially, I believed that I was using my art to narrate something personal. But it took me time to realise that what I considered personal was merely an effect of a bigger social problem. 

Hence, my current works look at the agrarian problems from a social lens. My style, which was initially figurative, followed a path to become abstract. At present, my prints are becoming a confluence of both figurative and non-figurative elements, for the spectators to analyse and interpret. 

Anecdotes , 2024
Unique Edition
Engraved Woodblock
12×12 in
Source: Satyanarayana Gavara

Q: Please tell us about your journey to become an artist. Did you face challenges over the course?

A: Yes. There were numerous challenging moments in this journey. As I mentioned earlier, one of them was the food shortage. I was also in need of financial assistance. I could not ask for my parents’ aid in helping me financially after a certain period. It was during my master’s course that I participated in the 2018 Biennale conducted by the Lalit Kala Akademi. I won the first prize in the same, which funded my education then. I began participating in more competitions, grants, and residencies, which helped me financially, and I would say the same for any upcoming artist. 

Q: What will be your advice to your peers? 

A: My journey was helped with seamless communication with senior artists and professionals in the field of art. I consider it extremely essential to talk to them, for they will help you with upcoming opportunities and to develop oneself. Chiseling our thoughts and ideas to attain more clarity on it is another point I would like to add to the upcoming artists. Being unambiguous about your ideas helps in creating better works of art and communicating the right message to the audience. 

Satyanarayana Gavara’s works spotlight the untold stories of the agrarian sector. He borrows icons from his traditional background to narrate his art to the contemporary world.