Veer Munshi

Veer Munshi (b. 1955), from Srinagar, Kashmir, employs his craft to convey the depth of human suffering caused by social and political turmoil. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Arts from the Kashmir University in 1976. He pursued BFA (Painting) from MSU Baroda, which he completed in 1981. He was forced to shift his base to Delhi when his hometown was rendered unsafe to live. Munshi’s art is a reflection of his life experiences, which he uses to raise awareness of the plight of refugees in his homeland. Through his paintings, Munshi captures the sorrow, pain, and fear that pervades the lives of Kashmiris. His canvases depict the devastation wrought upon his cherished homeland, forcing him to flee and leave behind his cultural heritage. The figures in his paintings are seen surrendering to the ominous vultures of despair, a metaphor for the helplessness and suffering that Munshi himself has experienced. His use of colors such as purples and browns evokes danger and fright, while cheerful hues like reds, oranges, and greens are treated with a harshness that reflects the harsh reality of his homeland. Munshi uses his work to preserve the cultural identity of his homeland. He has incorporated handmade papier mache and even embarked on a photography project to document abandoned houses of Kashmiri Pandits. He sees his art as a way to express his pain and anger about the current state of affairs in his beloved homeland. The current work depicts anguish in the midst of a shattered landscape with debris of destruction which become metaphors of havoc and mindless ruin.