THE FIRST PACE

At NGMA, Bangalore

— AUGUST 8, 2012
Art is the visible, tangible or audible form of an artist’s state of mind; defined by his surroundings and background in which he had been brought up! If not this, then its all about his fantasies and what he wants things to be like. For eg; this difference can be seen in the works of Ramkinkar Baij and M.A.R. Chughtai.

While Kinkar da’s paintings would include stout, heroic and dominating women, while that of Chughtai’s were delicate with elongated arms, fingers, eyes and body. They are based on romantic fantasies with a subtle yet bright color play with human figures similar to those of the Kangra paintings (as seen in ‘Radhika’ and ‘dream’). Being an artist of the 20th century from Pakistan, it is fascinating how he seems interested in subjects from Hindu Mythology.

On the other hand, Kinkar da recreated what he saw. He perceived women to be very commanding, purely visible in his works (‘Homeward taking cow and a calf’, ‘Harvester’) .In bold, dynamic and restless strokes, he would mostly portray his own observations from his family and surroundings.

And we started the same way…:)

Back to the start

— AUGUST 6, 2012

Nothing as obstinate as one’s own past has so perpetually affected their decisions and choices for the present; as “past” is the proof of existing realities and present is the construction of non-existing one. Out of some significant excerpts from it, we selected one memory that deserved a physical state to be reliving again.

The first step- Selecting one out of the whole span of 21 years

My memory dealt with my mother’s ability of juggling multiple jobs at the same time exceedingly well. She would manage a promotion at work with the neatest home, yummiest food & respectable grades for us  . She would stitch me puppets & dresses for my dolls; yet somehow we would fail to appreciate her enthusiasm and at times ignore her concerns and hence our comfort due to those.

Next- Manifestation

So I decided to narrate this story in a metaphoric manner. Mother has been symbolized as an octopus, that could easily tackle multiple jobs on her ‘eight’ fingertips. Also each character has been portrayed relatively by a distinct allegory. I stitched a similar puppet from my childhood, fragrant of mom’s perfume that one could wear to narrate the story. Two round mirrors have been used in place of her eyes so that the viewers could see themselves in her ‘eyes’ hoping to revive their own naughty innocent memories…

Edit

The exhibition

— AUGUST 6, 2012

Its feels wonderful when everyone in your surroundings has something to teach you and is being able to relate to you in some manner.

Edit

The Octopus and her daughter

— AUGUST 6, 2012

Far beyond the coniferous trees
ruffling around, with the gentle breeze
there lied a deep blue sea
as neat as neat could be
‘coz of a creature with great expertise…

Edit