Last Saturday evening, a small crowd gathered at Muse art gallery, The Marriot, for the opening of Symphonic Convergence. A group gathered around a table on the left side of the room where colourful bottles, gleaming in yellow light, were the topic of conversation. Decoupage, which literally means ‘to cut up’ is the craft of decorating an object or surface with picture cut outs, sealed with glue and varnish. “It can be done using pictures photographs or fabric,” says Sarosh Master, who began to practise it for many years now. From afar, each bottle is a riot of colour. Come closer and you see familiar faces — Michael Jackson, The Beatles, Eric Clapton, and Pink Floyd.
“You need to have a theme in mind. It’s always theme first, pictures second,” he says, explaining how each bottle gets its unique identity from putting seemingly unconnected images together with a few coats of glue and varnish.
Pranati Khanna’s work, new media on canvas, also incorporated images but using new media tools. The work which focussed on people and their emotion was inspired by Pranati’s own experiences as well as those of the people close to her. “I always take my own photographs; most pictures are of people close to me,” explains Pranati, as she goes on to tell us about ‘Innocence’ which features two of her closest friends.
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Nirbhay Kuppu’s work displays yet another aspect of the visual. The wildlife photographs, captured on his trips to Africa and Kerala, are simple and direct, drawing focus to subject — an elephant calf or the view from Mount Kenya — rather than the technique.
This straightforwardness was contrasted by the abstract nature of Salman Mohsin’s work. Acrylic on canvas, Salman’s work, which included elements of the late 19th century to new age pixel art, attempted to comment on materialism, self-expression and personal freedom.
Symphonic Convergence, with its variety of display by a mix of artists, was much like a work of decoupage. “The idea was to bring together artists whose work I thought needed to be seen, and though the work is everyone’s own, it all comes together to prove a point that art need not be restricted to one medium or style,” says Pranati who has produced the show. The music for the evening was provided by Casey and the coffee beans. The exhibition will be on till January 5, 2013.
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