Shreya Suraj: the moment something goes wrong...

It's impressive how a single story can inspire such diversity through different mediums! Visual artists from around the world are taking part in WHISTLE project, in an attempt to present a multi-sensory experience never attempted before in the Greek visual art scene. And that's because we do not think of visual art as an experience that when viewed fades away, but as an excuse, a triggering event, a reason to produce an artistic conversation and a literal dialogue with everyone interested. This is the way we feel visual art should work.

In this short article we present the work of  Shreya Suraj, a talented painter from India.

How did you learn about the Whistle project?

I heard about Whistle project on my art group. The production team, had posted an open call, inviting artists to participate. I found the idea interesting so I decided to write an email to the director and ask more details about the project.

What intrigued you?

The main theme of Whistle project revolves around supernatural beliefs and blind faiths. Beliefs people have been following since the time of their forefathers. This blind belief has been scoffed upon by most of us, but the moment something goes wrong we land up remembering the old sayings and start believing in superstitions again. Since this movie too dealt with Greek Mythology and superstitions, I found it very interesting to do some research on this topic and hence took the decision to take part in the project.

How do you get inspiration?

I get my inspiration mostly like sparks. It just comes to me. I enjoy reading books on the subject of Arts and keep being motivated by other artist's work. But since I am not professionally trained, I do need to look at some basic outline of some figures. But after the basic outline is done, I just follow my creativity. I always try to keep my art work simple so that even a common man, who is not an artist can understand my work and appreciate it's beauty and simplicity.

What technique did you use?

I am a self-trained artist. So, I use a lot of color and black pen in my work. My favorite is usually "Zentangle" work which calls for repetitions of various patterns in a particular area. So, this does not follow any rule except the basic fact that the art work has to be neat with clean lines. I also like play with silhouettes, an effect which portrays the main foreground in pure black color against a bright background. Here the emphasis is, only on the outline of the main figure and no other details are put in the foreground drawing. This gives, a feeling of mystery to the drawing. Both my drawings have the creature as the main theme but I have tried to give a different look to them.

What message do you want to communicate through you artwork?

Through my art works, I want to present the theme of the project in a clear and simple way. I believe in simplicity and showcasing works in such way is my goal.

How do you see the story behind WHISTLE through your artwork?

Through my works, I want to tell the viewers that there is an element of suspense, mystery and supernatural element in the movie. In addition, they should watch the movie to get a full view and understanding of the story.

All the works created for WHISTLE project by Shreya, will be available to the public during the transmedia exhibition.

Shreya Suraj is a self taught painter from Chennai, India. She lives and works in Doha, Qatar. She is the creator of "Anybody Can Draw", an online facebook community dedicated to painting and illustration. The community promotes the work of artists regardless academic background in Fine Art, encouraging, at the same time, everybody to get involved with painting and drawing. 

You can find Shreya Suraj on FACEBOOK.