What can something as fixed as a portrait tell us about the fluid contours of the subject’s self? Is it a representation of likeness or can it be used as a tool to, if not unravel, at least gesture towards the deep mysteries of the psyche? A few answers can be found at the ongoing exhibition “Dialogues With The Self”.
The exhibition is being held at Bakheda, a performance and art space in Said-ul-Ajaib, till November 2, after which it will move to the studio of The Portret Project in Vasant Vihar.
The exhibition comprises works by 12 artists.
According to Anirudh Chari, the curator, the exhibition is about “different ways of expressing the psychological self, not necessarily through means traditionally associated with the term portrait.”
So while Ramachandran N. has used images of his body to present his perception of himself as a sum of many parts, Prasannakumar has worked with “pixellated form, which distorts the image and presents the countenance in a disquieting manner.”
The other artists participating in the show are Anamika V, Avijit Mukherjee, Naveen Kumar, Aishwaryan K, Venugopal Reddy, Manush John, Sahaya Sharma, Pallav Chander, Kiran Thulsi and Umashankar Venkatapathy.
Talking of the art of portraiture, Chari says after years of neglect “it is coming back in a big way” in India. “It has started taking on various forms and the media through which artists express have expanded considerably.”
According to Sakshi Mahajan, the founder of The Portret Project, “The theme of the show and the artists’ works bring to my mind the concept of the ‘Dialogical Self’ developed by the Dutch psychologist Hubert Hermans. His theory looks at the self as a society and the mind to imagine different opinions of participants in an internal dialogue, hence being multi-voiced and dialogical. I believe that the show will highlight notions of this enthralling perception of the psychologist.”
Interestingly, The Portret Project, which takes its name from the Dutch word for portrait, is dedicated exclusively to portraiture. Founded in 2013, the gallery seeks to showcase and highlight contemporary forms of portraiture, such as video art, alongside works on canvas and mixed media.
The Portret Project has previously organised two exhibitions: Suggestive Dichotomies and Out of/In Countenance(s). Besides hosting shows, it also offers portrait commissioning services.
