Page 23 - 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
sometimes they clash with reality. He portrayed this by
breaking up his figures, plants, birds and animals into
20 sharp, angular shapes and used bright reds, yellows,
greens and blues to make the scene feel magical, and
not entirely ‘real’. He evoked Force through the action
and power of the figures, while Fantasy shine in the
strange shapes, bold colours and the unique mix of
nature and imagination. In one painting, for example,
he showed a gladiator locked in battle with a horse,
symbolising the struggle between a person’s mind
and their dreams. In another, the human form blends
almost invisibly with the horse, showing how closely
our imagination can become a part of us.
Around the same time, Mistry introduced a new series,
Speak Sweet. This body of work was born from a
thoughtful reflection on the power of speech. He was
struck by how something as small as the tongue could
stir such strong emotions and make a huge difference,
for better or for worse. He tried to decode how human
beings, emotional and forever craving love, respect, and
connection, could disturb the balance of community 21
with communication or lack of it.
The artist believed that speech was a powerful tool, and
that one must measure their words before one speaks.
For conjecture, he looked at the animal kingdom, at the
sounds of birds and animals. The cooing of a cuckoo,
the call of a peacock, the chirping of sparrows and so
forth, made Mistry pose a simple but serious question:
if animals and birds could ‘speak’ so sweetly, why
can’t humans? The series—inspired by this thought—
preserved the beauty of the human face, often placing
a bird near the lips. The eyes were intentionally placed
close to the bird, designed in a way that they mirrored
each other. Each face in the series carries a distinct
personality, portrayed in a stylised but slightly distorted
way to bring out its unique characteristics... and, by