Mad Moustache | Rakesh PK

“Art is a journey. You cannot plan it. I draw to find my happiness. That is what keeps me going.”  

I was born in Malappuram, Kerala, where art first found me in the simplest of ways, through sketches, observations, and an endless curiosity for the world around me. In 2006, after completing my schooling, I moved to Bengaluru to study graphic design. That transition, from paper to digital, opened new creative horizons and eventually led me to pursue a BFA in Applied Art from Mysore, grounding my practice in both design and visual storytelling.

Yet even as design shaped my profession, I kept returning to what truly moved me: the black-and-white photographs of the colonial era. These fragile images, frozen in time, carried more than just faces and attire. They held moods, silences, and unspoken stories. Their monochrome essence fascinated me, and in them, I found the roots of my own artistic language.

Charcoal became my medium of choice. With its powder, smudges, and layers, I began to rebuild these histories, not as replicas but as reimaginings. In shades of black and white, I discovered depth and texture, emotion and narrative. Each stroke is unplanned, led only by instinct, memory, and research. For me, it’s never about perfection; it’s about evoking a presence, giving voice to forgotten stories, and finding happiness in the act of creating.

I am currently working on concepts for an exhibition, an idea that has lived with me for a long time. These works, drawn from history yet alive in the present, are not just images. They are spaces for reflection, connections across time, and invitations to see differently.

Today, based in Bengaluru, I continue to balance my dual worlds: a designer by profession and an artist by soul. What keeps me going is simple, the joy of drawing, the quiet of charcoal, and the belief that art, when unplanned, carries its own truth.