Who said 'galiz', an Urdu word for something that is soiled or unclean, is a dirty word? It won't be after you see what Devesh Baheti aims to do with it. "I want to reclaim the word and redefine it. The entire notion of art is elitist and I want to make it democratic instead. I want everyone to understand, appreciate and afford it," says the 26-year-old. Professionally, Devesh is a creative supervisor and advisor for companies and celebrities, but just a week ago, he launched a Facebook store for his brand Galiz Incorporation, which he had started in January 2020. One look at the products, which range from trinket boxes and pop sockets to coasters and small vases, and it'll be like you've taken a peek inside the Hyderabadi's quirky mind. The motifs on the products are that of irregular and weird faces, but it possesses an undeniable charm.
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Devesh, who pursued Aeronautical Engineering from the Institute of Aeronautical Engineering in Hyderabad, started with digital art before launching the products. Since he had no formal training in art, "though I do believe it is in my genes, thanks to my mother and artist Jaya Baheti," he chips in, he wanted his hands to get that flow. Then, he shifted mediums from paper to ceramics and even trinket boxes. "At a cane shop near my house, I found these quaint trinket boxes and tried to unleash my creativity on them," explains the youngster. He used a Rs 10 3D marker and regular acrylic paints, keeping in mind his aesthetics of keeping it affordable and relatable. Don't ask him about his creative process itself, though, "It's all very erratic," he says with a long sigh and adds, "It's mostly spurred by my insomnia. There is no method to my madness, there is just madness." He lets his creative juices flow at his own studio space in his house that he set up recently, complete with his nana’s vintage vinyl records and Jamini Roy’s paintings. It's a little piece of heaven that he has to himself.
Devesh did not expect his products to connect the way they did. He's shipped out about 15 orders all over the city already. "I don't want to project perfection through my products, I want to show that art can also be flawed and disheveled, just like us," he says and signs off.
For more on him, check out instagram.com/galiz.inc/
