Home sweet home… or maybe not so sweet. ‘Speaking House,’ an art show on at Durbar Hall Art Centre, explores what a house means.
The show is being organised by the International Federation of Asian and Western Pacific Contractors Association (IFAWPCA) a fraternity of contractors and builders from 16 countries in the Asia Pacific region. Artists from different parts of the country and some East Asian countries participated in an art camp organised at CGH Earth’s Marari Beach Resort last month. Kochi-based artist Radha Gomaty got the artists together.
The paintings reflect the artists’ perceptions, derived from memories and life experiences, of house. Whether it ever transforms into a space of comfort, a refuge or becomes a trap. It is a treat to see so many thought-provoking works under one roof.
Perceptions
Korean artist Kim Seola’s untitled work has a meditative quality to it, more like the telling of the beads of a rosary. Each tiny brush stroke seems to obsessively and repetitively meet the canvas, the uniform brush strokes never vary and contribute to the whole. The attention to detail appears frighteningly obsessive. Lavanya Mani’s ‘Still Life,’ in Kalamkari style, at first glance looks visually pleasing but on closer look it is disturbing. An abandoned, broken sewing machine, iron box etc. which once had pride of place in a house and turned it to a home.
C. B. Bahuleyan’s paintings ‘Human History is the History of Dwelling’ explore the mechanics of war and its impact on civilization. Especially poignant is the painting of a nest (with eggs) cosily resting on some cables. The uneasiness of the strife is all over the canvas but the eggs seem to provide a glimmer of hope and renewal.
Ambie Abano’s (Philippines) work shows a woman (self portrait?) deep in meditation. Called ‘My Home Resides Within’ it seems to withdraw inwards and draw inspiration from that philosophical idea that refers to the body as the first home. Gayathri Gamuz’s ‘The Security Guard’ is poignantly hopeful…of a garden blooming in the sea.
Inward looking artists
Hayan Lee, the other Korean in the show, presents a self portrait in the vivid red of the hibiscus. Unlike Abano’s work where the artist seems to looking inward, Hayan seems to looking or seeking to engage with the outside world, so that she can understand what she sees. The striking 3x4 feet painting wasn’t on show because it has been partially damaged by fungus. A photograph is on show.
Japanese artist Sayaka Arase’s work ‘No History/Reality’ juxtaposes the peace of an agrarian setting with the violence of war or political institutions. And how politics (of which war is a tool), finally, is the supreme power.
Displaced Kashmiri artist Veer Munshi seems to have remarked, on being invited to the camp, “my house doesn’t speak!” Having left his home in Kashmir, for what he thought was a week, never to return has scarred him. Probably for that reason, in what is probably the most ‘manly’ painting in the show (‘Cry My Beloved Boat’), he makes a generalised political statement on globalisation.
‘I Am A Little Teapot’ by Ritu Kamath is misleadingly cute but points to a sense of claustrophobia, a sense of being confined within a space. Sajitha Shankar seems to be experimenting with a newer and different artistic language. Radha Gomaty’s ‘Singing Tree,’ which is a sort of sculpture-meets-painting, is a bold experiment in mixing media – dung, ashes and paints.
The other artists whose works are on show include Sosa Joseph, Rathidevi Panikker, Shivani Aggarwal, Rashmi Trivedi, Satyanand Mohan, V. Ramesh, Harindran T.K., Aami Atmaja, Anjum Chaturvedi, Benitha Percyal, Dedy Sufriadi. The show concludes on September 22.
