DECEMBER

DECEMBER

Artist: Jaspal Singh
Title: Guru Tegh Bahadur Shaheedi
Medium: Single stick of Charcoal on traditional fabriano 100% cotton paper
Commissioner: India

The vicious rule of Aurangzeb is immortalised by its cruel action towards Guru Tegh Bahadur, who attained Shahidi [martyrdom]. In Sikh tradition this is remembered as the primary reason for the unravelling of the Mughal Empire. In coming to the defence of another faith, the Guru’s compassionate and selfless act was an inspiration for the Sikh community to always defend the helpless and poor, regardless of caste, creed or religion.The Guru and his brave Sikhs laid down their lives rather than their faith.

Artist

Jaspal Singh

Jaspal Singh is a self taught fine artist who loves to experiment with various media in his practice of creating life on paper. His work has been exhibited at the National Museum, New Delhi (February 2020). In the spirit of pushing, and breaking barriers he ventured into digital art. With a deep passion for miniature portraits in his own words he expressed that “Each portrait for me is a gift, as I get to meet new people, learn their stories and experiences and explore deeper meanings to not just my subject and my work but even life. Every piece of artwork I make, I cherish. It gives me immense satisfaction, a reason to rejoice, a chance to dream big and think beyond predefined lines.”

With great pride in embracing his Sikh heritage and instiling those values in his life. Jaspal has dedicated his life to his artistic work, embracing a deep sense of duty and responsibility to use his artistic skill to provide for his household. Jaspal creates wonderfully detailed works with limited resources and materials, such as using a single stick of charcoal, or simple biro pen. He describes his approach to learning and inspiration as “I love reading up on the works and lives of artists, to try to understand their inspirations and struggles to gain knowledge from their experiences, with a goal to build myself and our community stronger and better.”