Folklore and mythology are the predominant motifs in the works of Aurovillian artist Aparajita Barai, whose solo exhibition comes across as an artistic extension of her personal quest for spiritual truth.
‘Inward’, the artist’s show at The Blueline restaurant of The Promenade Hotel on Goubert Avenue, is on till January 22.
The launch was attended by Ashwani Kumar, Chief Secretary, Dilip Kapur, founder president of Hidesign and The Promenade hotel.
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Many of the 13 paintings on display are ornamental, bold and graphic.
Aparajita’s works are influenced from folk styles and reveal the intricacy of traditional Indian art forms. Mythology and spirituality predominantly mark her works.
According to the artist, Indian gods and goddesses are highly misunderstood. The devotional aspect has dominated all the other aspects making it blindly religious and devoid of the spiritual essence.
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For Aparajita, her works are a means of sharing with others the revelations of her inward journey.
Her self-avowed mission is to re-stir Indian spirituality and philosophy and present it with personal quest, “to dig out the ancient treasures, meanings and possibilities that have got submerged under the ceremonial practices.”
“As a seeker, I am in search of that divinity. As I seek, the path keeps revealing itself to me and as I walk that path, I want to share my findings and journey, hoping it will benefit in breaking through the rigidity,” she said.
The Auroville-based artist is a communication designer having graduated from the National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad and completed her masters in Design for Communication from University of Westminster, London — this academic background prompts the artist to look at the deities from the point of view of communication design.
Abstract energies
“Not many of us are aware of the symbolism behind. These personifications of abstract energies are so well articulated through visual language, rich in its layers, dimensions and poetic substance. I feel if a better understanding can be developed, making what we worship also a practice in our daily life, the hatred and fanaticism in the name of religion will start to fade out,” she says.
It was in 2014 that Aparajita felt an urge to explore communication design from an Indian context. This would lead her to the vast realm of symbolism and the deities. She started to create paintings of the gods and goddesses and had her first exhibition in December 2015 in Auroville.
The artist is of the view that her works connect most with people who appreciate or are curious about Indian culture or want to better understand Indian spiritual concepts.