In July 2021, in the midst of the pandemic, the famous Sinha siblings, Sonakshi Sinha, Luv Sinha & Kussh Sinha launched their art venture titled House of Creativity – an online platform that allows art aficionados from virtually anywhere to procure contemporary artworks from homegrown Indian talents. Now as things start to return to the new normal, they prepare their first offline foray which is an exclusive, by-invite-only exhibition titled ‘Locus of Control’ curated by Abhinit Khanna and assisted by Anushka Bhatnagar to be held at BMW Infinity Cars, Worli, from 9-10 April, 2022. Driven by BMW Infinity Cars, this exhibition will feature select works across paintings, photography, film, textile, and new media by contemporary House of Creativity artists such as Ali Akbar Mehta, Arvind Sundar, Digbijayee Khatua, Govinda Sah Azad, Koshy Brahmatmaj, Kedar DK, Sarika Mehta, Shalaka Patil, Urvi Sethna, Tushar Waghela, Sonakshi Sinha, Luv Sinha, and Kussh Sinha.
The idea for House of Creativity occurred to the siblings primarily because of the pandemic. Their goal was to help budding artists reach a wider audience, something not always possible on their own. With the tide finally changing, they want people to identify their hand-picked artists with their works and that is the reason behind the upcoming show.
House of Creativity’s inaugural exhibition is inspired by Julian B. Rotter’s theory. Julian was an American psychologist known for developing the social learning theory and the locus of control concept. The latter is a psychological concept developed to define the amount of control people believe they possess over situations and experiences that directly affect their lives as opposed to external factors. Interestingly, A person’s ‘locus’ may either be internal (control of self on one’s own life) or external (life is controlled by outside factors which one can’t influence).
Sonakshi Sinha, actor and self-taught artist, is understandably thrilled about the venture’s inaugural exhibition and also about the fact that she will be showcasing her brand new series. Talking about her acrylic on canvas works, she divulges, “My works are about colors and a lot of my identity as well, but not in a very obvious, in-the-face manner. They are self-portraits, my interpretation of self-portraits, and are definitely open to interpretation by people. Earlier, I have painted chiefly in monochrome tones, but then one day I added a burst of colors on canvas and it resonated with me so much that I never looked back!”
Speaking more on the showcase, photographer-actor Luv Sinha who will be displaying two of his photographs, adds “Our primary goal is to display works of artists on-board at House of Creativity. It’s a huge responsibility we’ve undertaken to give them a platform and showcase them to as many art enthusiasts as possible. Having said that, we three are going to be displaying our artwork as well. My photographs are somewhat bold and loud–they are all about energy, colors, and positivity. Every photographer has their own vision, and for me, framing eye-catching objects is what attracts me.”
Continuing the discussion, filmmaker and artist Kussh Sinha affirms “Art is a way of giving your creativity a physical form. Even if I take a digital photograph, how I set the frame or what subjects draw me in– that’s something personal, and may not resonate with others. For me, art signifies a memory that causes me to ponder.”
