From Self-Doubt to Self-Belief: Why Abhay Sehgal Says Artists Must Be 'Shameless'- EXCLUSIVE!

Abhay Sehgal interview: At Filmibeat, we love interacting with artists who are passionate about the craft. In an age where art is consumed as quickly as content on a screen, artist Abhay Sehgal remains committed to the timeless power of personal interpretation.

In an exclusive interaction with Filmibeat, the artist opens up about creative freedom, self-doubt, social media's influence on contemporary art, and the importance of staying true to one's artistic voice.

Here are excerpts from the interview

1. Your artworks often leave room for multiple interpretations. Do you prefer explaining the meaning behind a piece, or do you enjoy letting viewers find their own stories within it?

I think an artwork should be always open to interpretation. Obviously, an artist has a certain intention before making any artwork, but the beauty of art is how it's open to perspective. You might look at it from the front or the side, and it might trigger certain emotions around you, or might make you think of certain things in your life that you can comprehend with or relate to. That's the beauty of art, so I think with any artwork it should be open to interpretation while you give your concept to it as well.

2. As an artist, how do you balance personal expression with the expectations of galleries, collectors, and the wider art market?

I think when you start out you obviously have more of your personal expression or what's out there in the world and what other artists are doing, you tend to create more of that or you try to be someone. But I think finding your personal expression with how galleries, collectors expect certain things from you, definitely comes with time. Uh, I think adapting to a certain style and artwork is never does not have a timeline, it's based on very hit and trial methods. The more you try, the more you'll fail and the more you'll fail, the more you'll find answers to what really is working for you. I feel a style of artwork is like a language such as Hindi or even Japanese, like you're you're conveying it through something else. So, your style your personal expression will always be there as long as you adapt to a style that the collectors show interest in. So, it's about the way you or the medium you say out things or express yourself in an artwork that matches the frequency of the wider art market.

3. Many young creatives struggle with self-doubt. Was there a defining moment when you felt confident enough to fully commit to your journey as an artist?

I think self-doubt are waves that come in your life. They keep coming, but at the end it's all about mentality. It's about how far you see yourself going in the art world or in any field. Um, obviously, like any other job or any other athlete you will have self-doubts in your career. There will be times where you'll feel just to quit and leave, but it's it's the endurance or it it is the the willpower which is a very simple word for it, but it is true like it is the willpower of how you overcome your self-doubt, and I feel like there will always be self-doubt, it's just about you putting yourself out as much as you can. You have to be kind of shameless about your work at one point.

4. Art today is increasingly consumed through social media. How has this changed the way you present your work and connect with audiences around the world?

I think it has its good sides and bad sides. For the good sides, obviously, it caters to the audience you'd never imagine you'll cater to, and you never know who sees your work. That's the best part about social media. But I think the feeling of seeing an artwork in person than just an image is very different. The way you see it in person has a lot of thoughts to process when you look at a work VS when you look at it on a screen, you're just seeing the compositions, you're not like really looking at the textures, you're not really paying attention to the details, especially in this generation when like doom scrolling is a term where the attention span on reels itself is like 10 seconds, 15 seconds. So, it's very hard to gather that momentum, but at the same time it does you a favor by providing you the certain income and opportunities that you would never in your wildest dreams even imagine.

5. You've built a distinct visual language over the years. How do you challenge yourself to keep evolving without losing the essence of what makes your work uniquely yours?

I think this distinct visual language comes with practice and I think the more you do, it becomes inbuilt. It's similar to how you drive a car. You know when to press a clutch while changing gears, right? So, it's kind of similar. So, there is never a thought of like how you might evolve by losing your unique touch to it. You might lose it, but it might lead to something beautiful. I think that's the charm about an artist's journey which you you you can never predict what the other steps and the what the next things would be. Which is why the artist's life is very correlated to the works he's producing or she's producing.

6. If someone were experiencing Abhay Sehgal's art for the very first time, what is the one emotion, thought, or question you would hope they leave with?

I do not expect a person to have one certain emotion, thought, or a question, but I would imagine or hope that the person has a lot of questions to herself or himself, asking about certain things. I really expect that whenever a person looks at my work, it kind of relates to their life. It's not necessary to relate it in a very obvious way, but it can obviously trigger something out of you which you had never imagined, and that's the charm of art.