Faculty of Art

Drawing and Painting: Digital Painting and Expanded Animation

Rushi Mehta

Neo-Mahabharata a Retelling

This project is a series of 7 digital paintings, which are presented in a 5 minute narrated animation.

“Neo-Mahabharata a Retelling is a series of narrated, digital paintings depicting the epic tale of Mahabharata from the Hindu Mythology. Clarke’s third law states, “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic” (Arthur C. Clarke, 1962). Similarly, the themes and ideas in Mahabharata can be very well considered futuristic. Thus, the series is a reimagination of the story, in context of western science fiction, while keeping the feel of ancient India through ornamentation. By applying the ancient Hindu stories into a modern sci-fi setting, I am trying to bring the stories into the mainstream. I hope to have the younger Hindu generations and people of other cultures to be interested in the various stories my culture has to offer. To give the series a sense of texture on a digital medium, I chose to have a painterly style to my brush strokes. The paintings are connected through a common theme, a glowing neon blue light, which represents an advance technology in the world of Neo-Mahabharata. Through the dramatic tone of the series with the help of narration, music and sound effects, I wish the audience to immerse themselves and experience the world for Neo-Mahabharata.”