A RENEWED FOCUS ON LAND NATURE AND HISTORY
Our troubled times have brought artists and thinkers closer to our natural resources, that has been overexploited by mankind, often looked at through the prism of history and mythology
This body of new artwork, presented by the gallery collective, In Touch, in their fifth edition brings to the fore the immersive and imaginative works of artists. Featuring a variety of voices from across the subcontinent and galleries from Dubai, the artwork contemplates the effects of being locked away during a pandemic while the land and the seas deal with the furies of nature. There is a darkness that pervades the atmosphere, a sense of fear that creeps through the surface of the everyday and this is made tangible by the artworks that are mostly small format, drawings, paintings, sculptures and photography. Artists have also turned into history and mythology for solace in these troubled times.
Artist Nityan Unnikrishnan, featured by Mumbai-gallery Chatterjee and Lal, brings his experience as a trained industrial designer to the table, but as a painter. His current body of work comprises the solo show ‘It Is Getting Louder’, and it bears a linear approach to form, but his imagination takes him into the realm of fantasy and his subjects take on a surreal, anthropomorphic presentation. He uses a combination of current affairs, mythology, history, modernist literature and personal thoughts on life and living as resources for his work.
Artist Dhruvi Acharya showing at Chemould Prescott has put together a set of inks and water-colours that contemplate our current condition and fears of humanity, re-enforced by the global pandemic with special focus on women and other marginalized groups, worldwide environmental disasters including wildfires, cyclones, heat waves, floods and melting polar ice, brought on by our collective actions. These events have hardly allowed us to breathe before the next one occurs.
“One thing we can do for our own peace of mind and eventually for the world in general, is pay attention to our own thoughts, try to replace the clutter with clarity…try to find solutions for our problems and tap into the elusive recesses of our minds, the working of which are often mysterious,” writes Acharya.
The Kolkata-based Experimenter gallery is hosting a solo by Pune-based artist Prabhakar Pachpute whose inquiry through his work lies with the exploitation of land and its mineral resources. He imagines a dystopia of the future…a post-mined and post-industrial landscape. His figures clad in their garb explore these landscapes and are culled from personal experiences, research and folklore. They confront, subvert, or even succumb to the pressures of economy and capital on land.
Artist PR Satheesh, represented by Galerie Mirchandani + Steinruecke in Mumbai, takes a dark look at his childhood, which was lonely, since he grew up in the mountains of western Kerala, on the outskirts of a forest. All forms of nature and life were in close proximity, the family’s existence marked by a fear of the unknown and this permeates his intimate drawings. The linear works are characterized by demons and futuristic ‘inventions’ that convey the quality of precariousness recorded in the artist’s memory.
Gallery Espace presents the works of Ishita Chakraborty and Sharad Sonkusale, two young artists who explore the world of nuance between black-and-white. Currently pursuing her MFA at the Zurich University of the Arts, Chakraborty allows her work to express her struggle with the ‘Eurocentric self-image’ of the society around her. More particularly, it arises from the many stories she hears from immigrants from across the world.
Sonkusale’s monochromatic works on canvas, overlaid with small squares of rice paper, reenact the vibrations of music, and are a visual transposition of ‘sur’ and ‘taal’ in the ragas of Hindustani music that he is inspired by.
Galleryske presents a selection of Sunil Padwal’s work. Padwal finds beauty and character in ‘found objects’, his work often includes things he happened to stumble upon, in the city of Mumbai. It delves into his personal memories of the city and presents us with photographs, drawings and found objects that trace back to his childhood memories.
Gallery Isabelle van den Eynde, a trailblazing gallery of the UAE, features Iraqi Letters: Photographs 1950-1970, by Latif Al Ani. We are informed by the press note, that the photographer Al Ani wore many photographic hats, ranging from propagandist-like work showcasing modernization and industrialization for the Iraq Petroleum Company, to a deeply sensitive and occasionally experimental personal practice on the margins of his corporate and ministerial projects. Ani’s practice from the late 1950s to the late 1970s documented a broad sweep of Iraqi daily life, capturing a vanished pageant of Iraqi society. His work is a trove of golden age’ documentary memory.
Another gallery from Dubai, Green Art Gallery, is showcasing the work of artist Maryam Hoseini that explores the concept of ruins in a politicized social space. Hoseini captures empty historical echoes as bodies walk among the literal and figurative, the visible and invisible ruins of objects and architectures.
The bodies are flattened and unrealistic, their disembodied limbs represent the fractured nature of the inhabitants. The narrative confronts her viewer’s perception, preoccupation and projections of identity.
Nature Morte from Delhi presents a selection of collage works by Maya Varadaraj, which showcases and examines vintage images from the popular culture of India, specifically representations of women. This is the history into which the artist was born, her inherited identities, which she chooses to question.
PhotoInk presents photographs from Roger Ballen’s most recent book, Roger the Rat. Throughout his career, Ballen has pursued a singular artistic goal: to give expression to the human psyche and visually explore the hidden forces that shape who we are. The power of the ‘documentary’ camera merges with the ingenious power of his imagination.
Shrine Empire presents a range of Sangita Maity S works based on her extensive research in Keonjhar, Orissa and Tripura on forced displacement of indigenous communities and their occupational conditions as a result of ongoing industrialization and accompanying erasure of natural forests.
Tradition & Beyond showcase a body of Pichvais on the gold accents of the handmade Japanese paper which call attention to the beautifully detailed ornamentation of the Shrinathji idol, enhancing the Shringar, a significant part of the “Seva” in the “Pushtimarg” sect.
Vadehra Art Gallery presents a recent set of spontaneous drawings from Madhusudhanan, Mynakam is inspired by a figural bird from the Puranic Vedas, whose name when translated means ‘the mountains have wings’. It is said that when Lord Indra cut off the wings of the mountain, the mynaakam escaped or was set forth upon the world, charged with the duty of guarding the world from demons and evil spirits.
We certainly hope that the bird is watching over all of us now, as we struggle with these difficult times!
To catch the whole exhibition Log on to https://www.artintouch.in/ From December 2020 to Jan and in some instances till March 2021
Text by Georgina Maddox
Images courtesy: participating galleries of In Touch, edition 5
Find out more about the Artists and Galleries:
https://chatterjeeandlal.com/artists/nityan-unnikrishnan/
https://www.gallerychemould.com/
https://www.artforum.com/picks/p-r-satheesh-81653
https://www.ishitachakraborty.com/about
https://www.galleryespace.com/artists/gallery-espace/sharad-sonkusale/
https://www.galleryespace.com/
https://www.zhdk.ch/en/zurich-university-of-the-arts-1
https://www.instagram.com/sunilpadwal/?hl=en
https://www.hatjecantz.de/latif-al-ani-7025-1.html
https://www.gagallery.com/artists/maryam-hoseini
https://www.shrineempiregallery.com/
