FRAMES OF SILENCE

Janhavi Khemka’s art works are being feted around the world. The young artist speaks to Manisha Dasgupta about her challenges and achievements

- Manisha Dasgupta

Janhavi Khemka feels that her passion for art has helped her overcome all kinds of challenges in life. The artist has hearing impairment, but that has never stopped her from chasing her dreams. ‘‘Any kind of physical disability is always a challenge, but for me, this challenge is also my strength,’’ says the young artist, who specialises in printmaking. ‘‘It is the window through which I perceive and reassess my position within this world.’’ Excerpts from an interview with Khemka, who divides her time between Santiniketan and Varanasi:

Tell us a bit about your recent experimentations.

I consider myself a cross-disciplinary printmaker. Although I specialise in woodcut, I also work with installations, video, glass sculptures and other forms of printmaking. More recently, along with making videos that accompany some of my installation-based works, I have started developing a stop-motion method of film- making using traditional woodcut techniques. I painstakingly carve each frame and print it in order to create a moving narrative, thus extending my practice into a newer avenue of experimentation.

How has art helped you cope with life's challenges?