Acknowledging the lasting impact of the art work in the impressive Ajanta and Ellora caves, iconic artist Nandalal Bose had once written, “Even if all the paintings and sculpture of Ajanta and Ellora get destroyed, they will still live. They will live for all time in the minds of the art lovers; even if a single artist has seen them, their essential reality and influence will be active in his work. So a work of art, being a creation, follows the laws of all creation; it lives forward from one generation to another…” Following in the footsteps of Mr. Bose who documented the paintings at Ajanta and Ellora, a group of seven artists from diverse backgrounds, including those from Puducherry, have exhibited their work on Ajanta, Ellora and Elephanta caves in Maharashtra in an exhibition, ‘Re-visiting the Past’ at Tasmai gallery here.
The artists include painters Jagatram Meher, Giribala Tripathy, Kirti Chandak and sculptor D. Saravana who live in Puducherry, portrait specialist P. Saravanan from Cuddalore, painter Janardhana Rao Havanje from Udipi, and environmental artist Leyla Brashka from Mexico who is in Puducherry for an art residency. They spent close to two weeks at the three sites, from morning to evening, observing, meditating, sketching and painting. While Ms. Chandak, director of Tasmai, was on her fourth visit to the caves, for the other artists it was a first and they were engrossed by what they had seen. “Ajanta and Ellora have to be on the must-visit list of everyone, not just artists. I would like to keep going back for inspiration,” she said.
The exhibition includes almost 200 drawings, paintings and sketches, apart from hundreds of photographs and two video installations. The artists have used a variety of mediums and techniques such as sketches, oil paintings, Indian ink and surfaces such as rice paper to convey on canvas the influence the several millennia-old art work had on them. “The idea behind the exhibition is to render through our work the experience we have gained in this trip and share it with others. We hope we can take forward some inspiration from this work as individuals or as a group again,” said Ms. Chandak.
To give visitors an impression of actually being in the caves, the artists have designed simple ‘torches’: twin lights attached to a battery and covered in a leaf, and encourage people to visit in the evening when lights are turned off.
The time spent at the caves also led to introspection on the maintenance and value ancient art is given in India, said Ms. Chandak. Mr. Meher has created a video installation on visitors at the caves, which shows people not having time to observe the great work which has gone into the sculptures and paintings at these caves. The artists observed a lack of appreciation and understanding though hundreds of visitors thronged the caves, said Ms. Chandak.
Tasmai has plans to organise more such trips to historic sites to study and appreciate the legacy of art in India.
The exhibition is on till Thursday at Tasmai, a Centre for Art and Culture, in Kuruchikuppam. It is slated to travel to Udipi next, and later to Mumbai.
