Unique, over the edge, thought provoking and reaching out to innumerable people around the world, virtually, with the World Wide Web as her gallery and IT technology as her medium, 28-year-old Shilpa Gupta is going places and has already made a mark as one of the best known names in the brand new zone of 'Internet Art'.
The new art form, as the name suggests, uses the Internet as its medium and is always interactive, participatory and based on multimedia.
It can be in the form of an artistic website, an e-mail project, artistic Internet software, online video, audio or radio works, networked performances or online installations.
The traditional canvas is a big no-no for Mumbai-based Gupta, who not only wants to reach out to people all over the world, but also wants them to have an interactive experience viewing her Internet creations.
Gupta's work is found on some of the most popular websites catering to Internet Art, sometimes in the format of a computer game and on other occasions is an interactive web page, in all cases inviting the viewer to get actively involved with the on-line art.
"Internet art is all about actively involving the viewer. I am not interested in the traditional art, which is displayed in galleries and only a limited people get to view it," says Gupta, who was in town recently to receive the prestigious 'Sanskriti Award', given annually to young achievers.
A graduate of the J J School of Art, Mumbai, the artist-with-a-difference has designed a website on illegal diamond trade in Sierra Leone that is used to fund militancy there.
"People can log on to the website that looks like an advertisement for diamonds where you can even place orders for the diamond of your choice. But as you click on the different options available, you realise that the website deals with the illegal diamond trade of Sierra Leone," Gupta says.
Another on-line creation of Gupta deals with communal strife and attempts at underlining the commonalities between different religions. The website invites visitors to log on, choose a religion and get blessed.
There are a number of faiths the surfer can choose from, go to a shrine of his or her choice, pray and get blessed. The visitor can also get a printout of a 'certificate of blessing'.
One of the very few to have taken up Internet Art in India, Gupta says it defies the rules of commercialism. "You may not get paid as a regular artist is for his or her paintings. Nothing is bought or sold. But this is definitely the next level of art. I am making people interact with my creations, which no painter can claim to have achieved," says the artist.
But it was commercial aspiration that ironically led Gupta into the world of Internet Art. It was her job as a web designer that in fact introduced her to the new medium.
"I worked six to eight months a year to earn a living and dedicated the rest of my time on my art projects," says Gupta. For the last couple of years though, she has taken full time to art, earning enough from her installations and video artworks.
She however claims that "nothing can match the reach of the Internet. And my works have got feedback from such varied places, it is unimaginable. It is definitely the next frontier in the world of art."
Internet Art may not be commercial in nature, but it is a new medium with immense prospects owing to its limitless reach. In international circles, there is a lot of respect for this kind of 'new media art', adds Gupta.
The young artist has already won a slew of awards, including the prestigious German Transmediale Award and more recently the Sanskriti Samman. "Awards mean a lot to me. They give me something to show for the off-beat work that I am doing and is reassuring for my family and friends," she says in an honest disclosure.
