Specially-abled young Naga artist’s painting sells for Rs 1 lakh

Imli Sunep a self-taught artist hailing from Aoyimti village in Nagaland’s Dimapur district is defying all odds by painting with his mouth

A truly inspiring story from Nagaland. A specially-abled young artist from Nagaland has achieved a new milestone after his painting ‘Ray of Hope’ was sold for Rs 1,05,000 in an online auction initiated by one of the mentors of the Youth Net Incubation Centre in Nagaland.

Imli Sunep a self-taught artist hailing from Aoyimti village in Nagaland’s Dimapur district is defying all odds by painting with his mouth. The young artist started painting at the age of 12.

Sunep has no educational background, but one thing was definite for him, he was determined to paint and share his stories.

“I was sitting outside one evening when I noticed the beautiful sunset and it was at that moment that I decided that I would be a painter no matter what. I was determined that even though I cannot use my hands, I would use my mouth to paint,” said Imli Sunep, who was born with disabilities and cannot use either of his arms.

The 24-year-old self-taught artist says he draws his inspiration from nature. “I like painting nature, especially landscapes,” he stated, adding that he rarely uses photography but instead focuses on the colours to create his art.

The young artist has so far painted 60 paintings.

The founder of Sunep Art made news recently when he won the first prize at the PwD Startup Competition, a programme under Startup Nagaland Policy 2019 organized by YouthNet, the State Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities, and Startup Nagaland, Department of Industries and Commerce.

The younger among two boys in the family, the artist expressed that his family has always been his support.

Tiakumzuk, Sunep’s father is marvelled at his son’s accomplishments. He said that the family had been concerned for the boy because of his physical condition and said its heart-breaking that Sunep could not get any education, but looking at his talent now, they are amazed and grateful.
“I feel great pride for my son,” Tiakumzuk said.

He narrated how, in 2020, Sunep wanted to try painting using his mouth, and slowly, step by step, he got better at it. At the same time, he hoped that his son would get even better in the future.

Acknowledging the contributions of those who promoted Sunep, he made a special mention of their local church for giving his son the first platform to showcase his art. The father of the painter particularly acknowledged M. Jamir for counselling them to encourage Sunep and to promote his God-given talent to a larger crowd.

His father made a request to all to give his son platforms at upcoming events and to support his talent.

Further, Sunep’s father shared that a person with disability is not a curse but a blessing and that they deserve to be loved equally.

He urged parents not to keep their children with disabilities confined at home but to help them find their own path and support them as they explore their talents.

He stressed that one should not discriminate against PwDs as “different” or “useless” because God has blessed each person with talents.

“We should believe that the PwDs can do things that we ‘normal’ people cannot do,” Imli Sunep’s father said.

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