Dyslexic artist on voyage of discovery

NEW DELHI: Ever wondered what it is like to see through the eyes of an artist with dyslexia? Decoding a Dyslexic Mind, a solo show of paintings, gives a clue to the creative process that is both therapeutic and empowering. The exhibition, by Pallav Chander, a young artist, will be on display at the Visual Arts Gallery in India Habitat Centre till March 6.
Chander brings an expressive self-reflection in the form of explosive colours and compositions. Working on the vibrant collection has helped the 24-year-old channel his dyslexia to his advantage.
"This is despite the fact that it has taken away many things in my life, academically and personally," he says. Chander, who uses his emotions to structure his art, frequently reworks many of his canvases on impulse, creating layer upon layer of oil and acrylic paints. "The first layer of 'Gaze 3', my favourite piece, was one of the beautiful things I owned," he admits. "Then I painted over it again and again and again, until 15 layers later I ended up with this." The result is a large, starkly black canvas with a single pink abstract in the upper corner.
Children with dyslexia are intelligent but find reading, comprehension and language skills challenging, which can be debilitating in school. Chander, who was diagnosed to have both dyslexia and ADHD in 2000, found life very difficult, having to deal with people's misconception of dyslexia as a mental illness. The social stigma made him reticent and shy, but in 2007 he discovered art. "My parents are both artists, so I always was exposed to that culture," Chander says. "But it was only in 2007 that I really gained interest in art and found in it an instrument to express myself." Chander uses his art as a medium of self-communication in an effort to decipher what it means to have dyslexia.
Not surprisingly, Chander's art pieces are highly personal, touching on topics like his parent's separation, his grandparent's death, and his own dyslexia. He says he displays his work only to create new interpretations and further develop the meaning behind his compositions by opening it to scrutiny and analysis by fresh eyes.
The exhibition, a culmination of two years of effort, is an amalgamation of dramatic colours, thick paint, texture, and bold and expressive finger strokes-his main painting tool.
Pallav Chander was born in Delhi in 1990. In 2012, he completed his degree in fine arts & honours from Birmingham City University, United Kingdom. He is both an artist and an actor, directing the composition of his art as well as self-written plays.