Art in the Time of Isolation

Rohan Bhatia, a second year student of films and animation at National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, is back at home in Mumbai and under a lockdown. With the Corona outbreak showing no signs of improving anytime soon, the future seems uncertain to Bhatia. One thing that he draws solace from is his art. If you scroll through his Instagram feed () you will find interesting animation about Covid-19 and how it is affecting the society and people.  

Rohan Bhatia

“I find art therapeutic. Also, any visual form is a good way to create awareness about an issue. Through my work I am trying to tell people how this pandemic has brought our lives to a standstill. But also we shouldn’t forget that we are all in it together,” says Bhatia. 

It was in school that Bhatia developed a keen interest in narrative sequences. He felt animated films in India had a long way to go and therefore lot of scope for artists like him to experiment and create interesting stuff. “A visual that moves is more powerful and creates a bigger impact, that’s how I look at animation,” he says. For his art work, he draws inspiration from his surroundings and people around him as he feels art that others can relate to makes a lasting impression. 

For Cosmopolitan India’s Work From Home issue, Bhatia has created a special animation about life in isolation. His work speaks about how each one of us is inside walls, rooms, our own spaces. Each different from the other, but united by our fates. As we spend life in lockdown, there’s also this pressure to do something, to learn a new skill, to work from home or use the time to do something useful. Rohan questions people’s thoughts...and tries to tell them that this time could be used to take a break from life, to rest and reassess our goals. He also emphasizes how confinement makes us value our freedom. “People shouldn’t be in boxes. If we are deprived of our freedom, we will understand why we need it,” he concludes.