A selection of works by nine Indian artists featured in the Gwanghamun International Art Festival was displayed at the Gallery, Inko Centre, Chennai. Ranging from environmental concerns to socio-economic issues the subjects were portrayed with insight and a keen eye for detail.
Cynosure of all eyes, S. Elancheziyan’s arresting work ‘Habitat’ is jumbo-sized in terms of conception and superbly crafted in terms of execution. In the foreground, poised at the edge of a rock-face is an elephant that the artist describes as the lifeline of our biosphere. Stretching below is the endless vista of the urban concrete jungle, soulless, contributing to unrest. But it is the spectacular night sky that dominates, its infinity and vastness, breath-taking. The pachyderm’s precarious stance suggests its threatened position and fast disappearing habitat.
Ramdas M. Gadekar treads softly, yet packs a punch in reminding us of what we have lost – peace and quiet, in the ruthless march of industrialisation. Hued in the shades of nostalgia, the green-painted Azulejos-tiled Goan balcony and old-world wooden recliner in ‘Across the Balcony’ pull you into a fast-fading way of life. The stillness of a lazy, sepia-tinted afternoon is belied by the presence of a heavy vehicle.
Sreeju Radhakrishnan thinks in bright colours. His ‘Dreamful Journey’ with the subjects clad in colonial uniform, holds a palpable vividness. His focus is on organisation of space, placement of figures and historical contexts, his forte being the juxtaposition of local flora and fauna and mundane activities in whimsical tableaux.
Natesh Muthuswamy’s line drawings incorporate air, earth, fire and water along with human elements. ‘Macbeth’ juxtaposes the classical killer with today’s gun-toting soldier hulks to convey that violence can only lead to the regression of the human race.
Harikrishna Katragadda’s ‘Kanpur Chromium Leather Dumps’ is a cyanotype that voices his concern at escalating levels of industrial pollution. Here, a blue-grey smog obscures the outlines of trees in a landscape foregrounded by a garbage dump. His particular concern is about the unceasing contamination of the Ganges and the pollutants seeping into landscapes, minds and bodies.
A finely detailed woodcut, Vijay Pichumani’s ‘Mystical Waves’ records the cross section of a tree stump where an insect has bored its way into the core. The artist contrasts simplicity and sophistication to record his impressions of Nature and the co-existence of all life forms.
The gaze is compelled to travel in ordered progression over Anupama Alias’ ‘How I Begin’ inspired by the concept of Eve being created from Adam’s rib. The artist’s inner dialogue prompts a journey of self-discovery in which she articulates her perceptions as a woman and explores human anatomy, with the rib cage being the spine of her work.
Sucheta Ghadge’s angst about the partitioning of rivers and the destructive draining of waters finds stark expression in the black and white ‘Obsession’ that details a deeply riven, undulating land mass and strange yet familiar forms of striated leaves. Again, environmental issues power Victor Hazra’s mixed media work (tree bark, watercolour, pen and ink) which exclaims at the state of the river Yamuna. A grey road bisects a makeshift township beyond which flows the polluted river.
The exhibition is on till July 18 (except Sunday) at the Gallery, INKO Centre, 10 am - 6 pm.
