A LOVE THAT SPEAKS ITS NAME
Undoing some of the ‘puzzles of love’, Vadehra Art Gallery opens a group exhibition conceptualized by Udit Bhambri
The opening of the online group exhibition at Vadehra Art Gallery is on 21 July 2021. The physical show is conceptualized by Udit Bhambri which features artists Anju Dodiya, Atul Dodiya, Arpita Singh, Shilpa Gupta, Sunil Gupta, Gieve Patel, N.S. Harsha and Sudhir Patwardhan.
Lying with your head in the lap of your loved one in a public space like a garden or near a historical monument seems like such a distant memory in our times of ‘social distancing’, where mask-wearing and hand-sanitizing are priorities. Yet hope springs eternal and one can find ways to break the protocol without necessarily upsetting the apple cart. One way for sure is to use fantasy and imagination. Artworks provide us with enough fodder for recreating that ‘special moment’ from our memory. Named after the coming-of-age queer romantic film directed by Luca Guadagnino Call Me By Your Name, is an exhibition that does just that.
“Call Me By Your Name asks the question – who completes us? While some shout out togetherness more demonstratively, others whisper in hushed tones – but what of this shared need to title it, engrave it, qualify it?” writes art collector Bhambri. “In spite of our transiency and love’s transfigurations, coupled with kindred hope to celebrate its imperishability, why do some relationships struggle more with naming and why are so many kinds of relationships still unnamed,” he adds. Indeed, it is a valid question to ask in context with what is accepted and what is not.
While Gieve Patel captures the aforesaid intimate moment of a man in his shorts, lying in the lap of his loved one, a woman dressed in her saree, blouse and petticoat. However, he places them against a tree clearly indicating a public space, with a sandy beach unfolding in the backdrop and a row of monuments and public buildings on the horizon. Couples canoodling on the beach was a common sight in Mumbai and Patel gently holds a mirror to this memory.
Anju Dodiya speaks about a different kind of love, one where the object of affection is nature. We see a woman hugging a tree, possibly an open reference to the ‘Chipko movement’ led by Gauri Devi. Another image within the same composition has a woman merging into the branches of the tree, and a third image where the sharp and jagged tree roots merge with the neck of what could possibly be a self-portrait. Companionship, even when experienced alone, becomes a kind of love.
Sunil Gupta captures the love that dare not speak its name— an early 1980s photograph of two men lying close together in a public garden in New Delhi with the Qutab Minar looming in the backdrop. At the time, being gay in India was still illegal, as decreed by Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, instituted in 1861 during the British rule of India.
“One of the best kept secrets in India is the practice of homosexuality, although there is no lack of practitioners from all social classes,” Gupta once wrote. Indeed, his series of photographs do capture the furtive and, in some instances, even public affections of men with men across the barriers of class and religion.
Atul Dodiya’s shutters series captures a narrative of the love that is typical of Indian social mores, where distance, departure and imagination indeed play a big role. On the outside of the shop-shutter is an image of the Indian actress Mumtaz Askari Madhvani, with a calendar image of a naughty baby Krishna as he satisfies his love for butter. A third, is of a young girl possibly in the throes of mooning over her loved one lies moodily upon her pillow. The shutter is lifted to reveal a turbaned Sikh man on a train being watched lovingly through the window by his love on the platform. He looks stoical as she has her eyes fixed upon him. One can imagine many readings of this narrative that is rich with stories-within-stories.
Sudhir Patwardhan uses the metaphor of hide-and-seek, to talk of ‘love and romance’. The shadows of an amorous couple lie at the centre of his composition, visible to viewers of the painting yet hidden behind a maze of trees from all those searching for them within the composition. They are however spied upon by another fully dressed woman and a man at the fore of the composition. Others appear to be searching in the wrong venues, crawling behind trees and even yelling into the woods. It is a wonderful metaphor for the intimacies of love which are there but yet not easily visible to all.
“We live in unprecedented times – where social distancing is often more comforting than a hug. Relationships have been redefined by the pandemic, and today, more than ever, we witness the true power of self-love, the genuine comfort of companionship, the thrill of reconnecting with an ex-lover and the satisfaction of reigniting our own latent passion. Call Me By Your Name, is an exploration of love in its many forms. It questions the status quo, and it attempts to erase labels. It accepts love in its multiple facets and in doing so attempts to infuse positivity in a time when a relationship of one kind or another, is our only panacea.” Bhambri concludes.
Text by Georgina Maddox
Image Courtesy: Vadehra Art Gallery and the featured artists
Find more about the featured Artists and Gallery:
https://www.vadehraart.com/gieve-patel-bio
https://aperture.org/editorial/sunil-gupta-vision-for-a-queer-politics-of-belonging/
https://www.saffronart.com/artists/anju-dodiya
