It was the strokes, colours and stories narrated by canvases mounted on the walls of Kalakriti Art Gallery that gave a distinct look to the art works. Titled ‘An Infinite Journey,’ the exhibition had an interesting appeal. The reason: it was not a regular exhibition held by artists to showcase their works but six students of Oakridge International explored new ideas on canvas and the outcome had an endearing, sometimes even riveting charm. Veda Kasireddy, Anuradha Roy, Hema Harika Chandana, Apurupa Balasubramanyam and Aditi Lakhtakia chose an eclectic mix of themes and mediums for their debut exhibition. As their mentors Piu Mahapatra, Visweshwar, Vasu and Ramakrishna walked around looking at the works with pride, the young girls spoke with passion about their allure towards art.
Though her eyes are set on web designing, Aditi Lakhtakia’s interests are in music and dance. Her work on a Lambada woman done with bits of newspapers rolled separately was a delight to watch. Her other exhibit showcased her hyper, vibrant brother in a cheerful mode.
Veda’s theme was contrasts and contradictions. “There’s always something opposing to what someone is supposed to do,” smiled Veda as she pointed out to her work showing an umbrella standing upside down, defying gravity. Also a storyteller, she weaves magical stories — one work showcased how cats and humans fight against each other. “They don’t realise the mastermind behind their fight is the fish,” exclaimed Veda with a smile and added, “Cat is my favourite and I also like to doodle. When I am doodling, I start adding different elements to it.”
Anuradha Roy’s fondness for textures and designs showed in her works on nature. Her love for vibrant colours and her sister was depicted in another work. “While my sister is focussed and likes science, I am drawn towards art,” she said.
Butterflies flit from one canvas to another in Hema Harika’s exhibits. “I love butterflies,” she said with a smile. In one unique exhibit, a model sits on top, while caterpillars strewn all over try to reach the top and be like the model. Apurupa, also a writer, showed us a painting with an image of Mahesh Babu, with pink lips! “The lips are to show how he quit smoking. I just wanted to show there’s so much more to him than just being an actor and also how he has been there from the manual age to digital era. The dots on the image are symbolic of his fans on Facebook which includes me,” she said with a smile. Another work on Mexican artist Frida Kahlo showed a broken glass depicting pain.
Deeksha Sanjay, an explorer at heart showcased her journey from her favourite couch in her room to taking the yellow road to school. If hands, as a mode of expression were depicted in one work, the other showed a young bride’s mehendi on hands and how fate has changed her life!
