HYDERABAD: The mood is celebratory at Dhi Art Space Centre. Small blocks of wood and tools lie on tables. Some artists pore over their wooden blocks while others indulge in casual chatter. At the centre, the woodcut art camp is abuzz with more than 15 printmakers participating from all over the country. The camp, in its second year, celebrates printmaking and the art of woodcut. G. Bhargavi, founder of Dhi Art Space, is enthused about the response. “It was a first-of-its kind camp when we organised last year. We are happy to bring it for the second time with a blend of eminent artists from the city and from outside. We also have youngsters participating,” she states. A similar camp is to be held at Chhaap in Baroda by Kavita Shah, she informs .
Learn the technique Chippa Sudhakar who is delighted to work with woodcut here. “I did woodcut in college and now I have an opportunity to do it again,” he smiles. Sudhakar attributes a lack of awareness about woodcut among art lovers. “People, who are unaware of the real technique look down upon print,” he says.
This is Swapnesh Vargankar’s first trip to Hyderabad. He talks of the surroundings in Goa which motivates artists to explore different themes. Accompanied by artists Anil of Bengaluruand Murali Chinnaswamy from Chennai, he explains that woodcut takes artists on a challenging track. “Unlike other mediums, in woodcut, an artist cannot reverse what has been done. We cannot erase. It’s challenging,” he points out and adds, “People look down upon print as it is the work of a machine. But they do not see the work of the artist who has created the piece of work.” Murali speaks of the bond one develops with this age-old art form. “It is like being in a meditative state. Different artistes have different techniques. Once you start working, you don’t know the end result. There are different characters and textures to it. And, that is the beauty of woodcut,” he adds.
Artist Venkanna from Baroda is coming to Hyderabad after 10 years. He was an art student at the University of Hyderabad and is amazed at the changing art scene in Hyderabad. “ Bahut mazaa aa raha hai ,” he smiles. With painting, printmaking and performance art as his forte, his works have travelled far and wide. “The constant interaction and exchange of ideas is quite inspiring. There is no clash of ideas as each one has their own creative process.” He looks around and remarks that three generation of artists are represented here. “There are teachers and students. I think I am in the middle,” he jokes.
Adapt with time As an art lecturer at a university in Punjab, Bhaskar Yadla has been motivating youngsters to look for newer ways to contemporaries. “Art form will be the same. It is the way we adapt it to the times which makes it different,” he observes. He has been working as a teacher for the past one and half months and is busy with a 30ft work. A special feature of his work is that he is combining woodcut along with a video shoot. “I am shooting at every stage of my work,” he states.
