Page 22 - C.D. Mistry || Master of Fantasy || The Arts Trust

instance, the strong, muscular structure of the horse

and bull came alive through its powerful leaps. The
curves and tension in the body, captured mid-motion

to show the animal’s strength, also serve as inspiration
for creative expression. While working in black and

white, Mistry decided to reintroduce bright colours
onto his canvases and, thus, his Forces and Fantasy

series was born. With this change, animals and birds
began to appear not just as realistic creatures, but as

powerful symbols of imagination and strength.

Mistry believed that fantasy had a special kind of
power over our minds, which could be as strong as a

galloping horse. Sometimes our dreams inspire us, and stir such strong emotions and make a huge difference,
sometimes they clash with reality. He portrayed this by for better or for worse. He tried to decode how human

breaking up his figures, plants, birds and animals into beings, emotional and forever craving love, respect, and
20 sharp, angular shapes and used bright reds, yellows, connection, could disturb the balance of community 21

greens and blues to make the scene feel magical, and with communication or lack of it.
not entirely ‘real’. He evoked Force through the action The artist believed that speech was a powerful tool, and

and power of the figures, while Fantasy shine in the that one must measure their words before one speaks.
strange shapes, bold colours and the unique mix of For conjecture, he looked at the animal kingdom, at the

nature and imagination. In one painting, for example, sounds of birds and animals. The cooing of a cuckoo,
he showed a gladiator locked in battle with a horse, the call of a peacock, the chirping of sparrows and so

symbolising the struggle between a person’s mind forth, made Mistry pose a simple but serious question:
and their dreams. In another, the human form blends if animals and birds could ‘speak’ so sweetly, why

almost invisibly with the horse, showing how closely can’t humans? The series—inspired by this thought—
our imagination can become a part of us. preserved the beauty of the human face, often placing

a bird near the lips. The eyes were intentionally placed
Around the same time, Mistry introduced a new series, close to the bird, designed in a way that they mirrored

Speak Sweet. This body of work was born from a each other. Each face in the series carries a distinct
thoughtful reflection on the power of speech. He was personality, portrayed in a stylised but slightly distorted

struck by how something as small as the tongue could way to bring out its unique characteristics... and, by