An installation by Ajay Lakhera | Photo credit: Special arrangement
Can you see what I see? This question also comes up as the title of an exhibition held at Kalakriti Art Gallery in Hyderabad. Paintings, sculptures and installations by 12 artists curated by Supriya Lahoti Gandhi and Ruchi Sharma inspire the audience to be active and interpret the artwork rather than being a passive spectator.
Some of the artworks reflect the artists’ observations of daily life. While artists depict slice-of-life events, their works also hint at looking beyond the obvious and exploring abstract stories.
For example, Navwasi (New Fragrance), an artwork by Ajay Dhapa, depicts multicultural coexistence. He uses a floral carpet as his canvas to paint his childhood memories of his hometown Jamnagar. The Vadodara-based artist has used the techniques of Mughal and Pahari miniature paintings for his imagery of bazaars, old architecture and vendors selling their goods on the roadside. Underlying these paintings is a picture of communal harmony.
From a distance, one of Ajay Lakhera’s artworks looks like pieces of a puzzle that need to be rearranged. The fragmented images, a few hundred in number, are references to unbreakable memories. This is the artist’s way of telling the audience that even small, insignificant events shape us. A collection of memories is woven to tell the ups and downs of life.
Doors Author: Girjesh Kumar Singh
In the larger context, Can You See What I See? is a collection of artworks that have diverse narrative structures. The artists use forms, shapes, and patterns derived from their observations of nature, architecture, and people to discuss history and social interactions.
A series of paintings by Ganesh Das highlight environmental concerns. He draws attention to the need for earth-friendly practices and minimising the exploitation of natural resources. The images of birds, animals and flora are reminiscent of a time when people co-existed with nature rather than trying to dominate it.
Girjesh Kumar Singh’s installations are designed using fragments of demolished structures. He presents a series of doors as markers of the history of a place. The redness of the brick of the old walls tells the story of migration and displacement.
Small businesses and vendors take center stage in Gulab Kapadia’s circular artworks, with vendors selling bamboo baskets, jute bags, bangles, flowers and more. The repetitive shapes of lotus buds and watercolors give the paintings a vintage effect.
Kamal Pandya’s sculpture, which resembles a large stainless glass, when viewed closely, reflects several modern architectural designs – a collection of houses in a neighbourhood, streets and markets.
The Layers by Neha Verma | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Neha Verma’s multi-layered installation The Layers encourages viewers to look at subjects from different angles. Layers of fabric and paper carvings that look like carpets, hung from the ceiling, act as windows to the paintings on the wall. Look at the architectural patterns on the fabric inspired by Hyderabad and Lucknow and understand the bigger image. In Shatranj Ke Do Khiladi, the artist creates an image that looks like a chessboard, whose squares are made of indigenous crafts such as Chikankari Embroidery and paper carving; the chessboard-like image has patterns on either side that resemble JalisThe architecture of these cities is significant.
Other artworks include Kapil Ananth’s photograph of a street food vendor, an elephant and a mahout which is part of his Incredible India series and Nitasha Jain’s series which comments on corporate work culture with men and women carrying laptops moving around cities that blend the old and the new. Select artworks by Raka Panda, Sanjay Patra and Srinivas Pulagam are also on display.
(Can You See What I See? The artwork is on display at Art Gallery, Banjara Hills, Hyderabad till July 2)
