The Discovery of India. That’s what we do when we decide to travel to different parts of our amazing and incredible country. Right?
And right again when you spot Vinati Bhatt’s amazing India-centric art known by the brand name “Discovery of India.” Here you see her interpretation of photography mixed with bright, almost kitsch-y colours. And it brings India alive in a completely different way. Almost as a brand new discovery.
But the discovery of this style took its own time to manifest. Vinati qualified as a fashion designer from NIFT in 2001 and worked with the intricacies of design, collections and fabric with export houses in Jaipur. Since the city is known for its prints and designs on fabric – Vinati too, was exposed to different designs and printing techniques. She had a fascination for creating and working with different weaves and textures and specialised in screen printing. 
But Life has its ways and Vinati got married, moved out of Jaipur and began to work with her graphic designer husband in his studio. After absorbing techniques and honing her skills in graphic design and across multiple client projects – the urge to create something was too strong for Vinati to ignore. At this point she knew she wanted to do something beyond graphics and fashion – but did not really know what form or shape that would take.
Inspiration struck one fine day – when Vinati was looking through the images shot on one of their numerous trips. The image was that of a Kashmiri craftsman. She recalled the subject of the image asking her as to what was she going to do with the picture. At that point she had replied that she was not going to do anything – and that she had shot the image because she found his face unique and interesting. But now she found herself thinking that she should do something with this and the numerous images in her collection. And that’s how the “ Discovery of India “ with its signature style was created.
Her first piece of work – was a series of what Vinati describes as “City Note Cards. “ Beginning with Agra – she worked with her images and married them with her artistic treatment and colours to create her vision of the city. She felt it captured the spirit of the place and made for an authentic souvenir – different from the usual stuff. Over time and the next three years – Vinati experimented with her art in different forms and now has created her signature style in the form of wall art which you can see showcased at http://www.worldartcommunity.com/shops/discovery-of-india/
She now works with different design elements and motifs typical of a particular place and merges them in the image of the subject from there – creating a unique and different style. For example – her work depicting the Taj Mahal has the monument’s signature “ jaali “ work pattern – that gives a whole new feel with its’ vivid colours.
Vinati seeks to present the beauty and diversity that is India. She believes that our country needs to be showcased in a manner that is respectful and dignified – unlike those who will persistently showcase the negative side of its existence.
The New Year is an exciting time for Vinati – as she works overtime, planning and creating a whole lot of new stuff. Plans are being made to extend her signature art on to accessories such as stoles and scarves. Plus there is the challenge of doing custom portraits and re-discovering her creativity with a whole new collection of prints and motifs.
We look forward to seeing more and discovering much more, too !