The recently inaugurated 10.5 feet by 6.5 feet oil painting of Lord Ganesha at the famous Papakura Ganesha Temple in South Auckland could very well have the reputation of being the tallest locally-made portrait among all temples of New Zealand.
At least, the portrait is the biggest for the Auckland based Kiwi-Indian artist Nagender Reddy Vangala – who completed the project in less than three months with a single mind devotion to Lord Ganesha.
The portrait was recently inaugurated by Head Priest of Ganesha Temple Papakura Chandru Kurukal on Sunday, April 14, at the occasion of celebrations of traditional Tamil New Year.
Since then the portrait continues to attract the attention of regular visitors and ardent devotees of Lord Ganesha at the famous temple.
The Indian Weekender spoke with Mr Reddy – a professional artist – who quite unusually found interest in the craft bit late in his life, when he was pursuing zoology in college, before being told by his professor that his destiny was somewhere else – in arts.
A casual chat with Mr Reddy revealed that long before coming to New Zealand he had the privilege of crafting on several commissioned work by prominent celebrities of India, including none other than Sachin Tendulkar, Shane Watson, Telugu superstar Allu Arjun and many more.
He also passionately told about cracking the entrance to Vancouver Film School as his most significant achievement so far where he came first among 250,000 artists from all over the world.
Here are some excerpts of the interview:
IWK: How excited are you to find your work – a portrait of Lord Ganesha – in the local Ganesh Temple at Papakura?
Mr Reddy: This has been a dream since 2015 and I am really excited to have completed this finally. Papakura Ganesh temple is close to our heart, and it gives me immense pleasure to see one of my biggest paintings of Lord Ganesha in the temple.
IWK: How did this happen? Were you commissioned for this work?
Mr Reddy: When Ganesha temple was renovated and expanded in 2015, I wanted to do a painting for the temple. It was pure coincidence that the priest of the temple, Chandru Ji also had a similar thought and asked me to do a painting of Lord Ganesha for the temple. This is not a commissioned work; it is our donation to the temple.
IWK: Tell us more about yourself and your passion for portrait making? When did you realise your interest in portrait making?
Mr Reddy: Drawing or painting is not in the family and does not come as a childhood interest. My passion for drawing started in college days when I put in a lot of interest in my science zoology-record. My Zoology professor had sown the seeds of art in me but a science record in my hand did not prove to anyone I would make a successful career as an artist. I was directed to a 2D animation studio in 2001 where drawing similar images hundreds of times was required to complete an animation scene. I think this was when I started experimenting on portraits and found myself in-treat of what I could do with just a pencil on paper.
IWK: Who were the key inspirations behind your interest in this craft?
Mr Reddy: If I look back and explore who or what were my key inspirations, I would definitely give credit to my Zoology professor who made me aware that there is a career in art, but I guess the biggest support was my father compounded with a mad interest in me to "make it happen". My father stood like a mountain of support and let me do what I wanted. Sometimes in life, it is not the money or resources, but pure trust and support from dear ones are all one needs to step forward. I received a lot of push back not only from friends and extended family but also from reputed art universities at the beginning of my artist journey. I took them as a blessing in disguise and stepped forward.
IWK: Tell us about key achievements so far?
Mr Reddy: Cracking the entrance to Vancouver Film School is by far my most significant achievement as I proved my worth by coming first among 250,000 artists all over the world. This formed the basis of many more achievements and the recognition the award brought was immense. It gave me the opportunity to meet Sachin Tendulkar who was one of the first few who commissioned my portrait work. Another big achievement for me in India was designing and drawing 36 portraits of outstanding women for a calendar showcasing 'Woman of the Millennium'.
Another achievement to remember for a lot of reasons is a pastel work of Mahatma Gandhi getting auctioned for NZD 32,000 back in 2006. The intention was to donate all the earnings to charity, and I feel humbled my art fetched such a huge amount which could help children with heart problems.
The latest and the greatest for me is to have completed the biggest painting I have ever done for our Local Ganesh Temple in Auckland.
IWK: What brought you to New Zealand?
Mr Reddy: It is pure destiny. After securing my entrance to Vancouver Film School, I planned to go to the United States for my studies and career. But to my disappointment, my visa was rejected multiple times. I was approached by an agency that assisted with visas to New Zealand, and now I feel lucky to have taken that step to apply and come to NZ.
IWK: Do you make portraits for a living? If not, then how do you manage between your daytime work and passion for portrait making?
Mr Reddy: Yes, portrait commission work is my full-time profession. I am also in the process of exhibiting work at renowned art galleries in Auckland and India. In the near future, there are plans to establish an art institute to cater to teaching art
IWK: What is your next main project? What are your future plans?
Mr Reddy: I am working on a couple of commissioned portraits which I will not be able to disclose more details yet. Please watch this space.