‘No Shadow Without Light’ is the long-awaited sequel to ‘The Devil’s Prayer’, a finalist in 2016 at the Australian Shadow Awards established by the Australian Horror Writers Association…reports Asian Lite News
In a world desensitised to environmental documentaries, historical fiction novels of Mumbai-born Luke Gracias allegorically tell the story of an impending apocalypse. The highway to Armageddon is signposted by historical texts, monuments and climatic events humankind chooses to ignore.
These features in ‘No Shadow Without Light’ (Write Place/Crossword), a must-read environmental bestseller which is a call to action to protect the “tools of survival” needed by the next generation.
It’s centred around The Devil’s Bible, currently held in the National Library of Sweden. It has 12 missing pages, rumoured to contain an apocalyptic text known as The Devil’s Prayer – pages written for Jess Russo, the child of the Devil, to find and unleash Armageddon. Only her elder sister Siobhan can stop her by finding these pages first.
From the Templars of Tomar to the Doomsday Chest in London, from the Curse of Amir Temur to the Shadowless Pagoda of Wuhan, the sisters race along the trail of destruction unleashed by each page. For every page that Jess finds, people are encouraged to be selfish, and hoard for themselves, erasing the chances of survival of other species and our future generations. Siobhan appeals to the selfless to protect our resources for the future.
This book is a prayer of despair and hope.
Gracias graduated in Marine Engineering before migrating to Australia in 1992. He completed a Masters in Environmental Engineering from the University of Melbourne in 1995. He has worked as an Environmental Specialist for over 25 years consulting for multinational mining, oil and gas, infrastructure and transport companies. An avid photographer, he has travelled extensively to encourage international companies to bring cutting-edge environmental technologies into Australia.
In 2007, he started a film production company called Instinct India, which line-produced the Australian shoot of ‘Singh is Kinng’, a major Bollywood box office hit of 2008. He decided to learn the art of story-telling and undertook a number of courses in creative writing and film production. In 2014, he developed ‘The Devil’s Prayer’ as a film script. In 2016, he converted the script into his debut novel.
‘No Shadow Without Light’ is the long-awaited sequel to ‘The Devil’s Prayer’, a finalist in 2016 at the Australian Shadow Awards established by the Australian Horror Writers Association.
This bold new stance for women in art has created a wave of transformation with its effect echoing across the world…reports Gunjan Srivastava
While women have been the subject of many a masterpiece, prized and adorned on the walls of prestigious museums and galleries across the world, the progress made in the representation, as well as the recognition of women as ‘the artist’ rather than ‘the muse’, has, to this day, been slow-paced. Although it may seem strange that the archetypal concept of gender disparity makes its presence felt in a community that is seemingly so liberal and open in its ethos, the reality is that it’s much the same as any other industry and widely prevalent.
The origins of the lack of gender equity within the artistic community can be traced back to the fact that women weren’t allowed to enter artistic professions or receive training until 1870. However, with that said, it’s hard to understand why more than century later women are still fighting against being type-casted as second fiddle to their male counterparts. Theories about the cause of this disparity within the artistic community have ranged from cultural biases in the interpretation of art, the disproportioned diversity of curators, collectors, and gallerists as well as the common ‘isms’ that plague women in any field they call their dominion.
However today, with the foundation laid by women before us, women artists have begun to take the art world by storm, commanding respect, recognition as well as a place of their own. Nigerian-born, visual artist Njideka Akunyili Crosby captured this sentiment beautifully when she said, “You don’t exist if you’re not represented. I felt a need to claim my own social existence by making the representation happen.”
This bold new stance for women in art has created a wave of transformation with its effect echoing across the world.
In India, women have been on the receiving end of countless persecutions, and stigmas for centuries, all in the name of culture and tradition. However, over time a brave few have taken up alms, with the paintbrush as their weapon of choice, to raise awareness and in that awareness incite change. To India’s women artists, art has served as a recluse and a megaphone; it provides an outlet to express their struggle as well as to draw attention to the plight of India’s women as well as the societal pressures that are placed on our shoulders. From paintings and sculptures to installations, these artists have made their presence felt and have done so since pre-independence. And while all may not have experienced commercial acclaim in their lifetime they certainly have attained critical acclaim.
Perhaps one of the most prolific of these canvas matriarchs is Amrita Sher-Gill who, in her hauntingly soul-searching self-portraits highlighted the culture as well as the despair of rural India; earning her the title of India’s Frida Kahlo. Contemporary artist and Padma Shri recipient Anjolie Ela Menon is another, who, in one of her most renowned works ‘Shabnam’ explored the hidden emotions and sensuality of women. Rekha Rodwittiya is yet another contemporary artist, who through her series of nude paintings, depicted the female form in a resolute and powerful disposition, showcasing the strength of a woman. Knowingly or unknowingly all these incredible artists along with their collections and creations have helped pave the way for a generation of artists who are unabashed in their creations as well as their meaning.
Take Goa-based visual illustrator Arunima Bose, who in her interactive installation titled ‘In Full Bloom: Playing with Pleasure’ wanted to normalise female sexuality. Illustrator and installation artist Shilo Shiv Suleman combines art and technology to create work that aims to drive social change. In fact, she’s even founded the Fearless Collective, which is a coalition of 400 Indian artists, who use art as a medium to protest against gender violence.
American abstract expressionist painter, Grace Hartigan once said, “A work of art is the trace of a magnificent struggle.” and as you browse through the pages of history, you will begin to understand that women have not just fought and persevered to be heard, but have triumphed against all odds. It is no wonder then that as you go deeper into the relationship women have had with art, you will notice that their endeavour isn’t merely to create aesthetic value, but to provoke change through every brushstroke.
Whether, as a muse, subject, or creator; standing on the shoulders of exceptional women before us the duo of women and art is perhaps the most enigmatic relationship that has taken more than a century to evolve. And with current generations taking on the mantle of challenging the status quo and pushing the boundaries of our representation and our place in this world, the future holds a multitude of opportunities, exciting adventures, and gender as well as era-defining movements.
The army said the event witnessed an overwhelming response from locals, tourists as well as media houses and was a grand success…reports Asian Lite News
The first ever Ladakh International Music Festival (LIMF) concluded in Leh on Monday, officials said on Tuesday.
The army said that the event, which was conducted over three days from April 30 to May 2, saw performances by local as well as contemporary bands.
“The event was aimed at paying tribute to heroes who laid down their lives for the motherland as also to showcase local talent and music as part of ‘youth empowerment’,” the army said.
The event was organised at Col Sonam Wangchuk Stadium in Leh by two media houses, ‘Picture Time’ and ‘Sky2Ocean’, with support from Fire and Fury Corps, Ministry of Culture and Tourism Department of the Union Territory of Ladakh.
“Leading bands of the country, including ‘Indian Ocean’, ‘Tetseo Sisters Nagaland’, ‘Parashra Band’ and ‘Joi Barua Band’ participated in the festival along with six local bands from Leh,” the army said.
The event provided a platform to the local bands to participate alongside contemporary musicians from the rest of the country. In addition to the leading bands, Bollywood celebrities Darshan Kumar and Richa Chadha also attended the event.
The army said the event witnessed an overwhelming response from locals, tourists as well as media houses and was a grand success.
To pay tribute to the Bravehearts who laid down their lives in the defence of Ladakh, a new metaverse ready song composed by Joi Barua will be released at the Rezangla War Memorial on Wednesday.
There are over 40+ awards to be given during the Film Festival Award ceremony and the winners will receive mentioned cash component as well a certificate and a medal/trophy…reports Asian Lite News
The Jammu and Kashmir Film Development Council in collaboration with National Film Development Corporation and the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, is organising the first-ever National Film Festival of Jammu and Kashmir from June 15-20, officials said on Monday.
The film festival, which will be a congregation of the best of films and music, film-makers, music artists, other allied talent, will serve as a reservoir of creativity and inspiration for anyone across the world who aspires to live, love and breathe films and music.
The idea behind this film festival is to highlight the film, music and creative ecosystem in Jammu and Kashmir, along with its’ natural and social-cultural beauty that Jammu and Kashmir has been blessed with, to rest of India and the world.
The Indian filmmakers and music producers, artists have been invited to submit their original films — fiction, documentary, OTT Films or shorts and Music Videos for the first National Film Festival of Jammu and Kashmir for a chance to win numerous awards under three broad categories including Feature Films, Non-Feature Films and Music Videos.
There are over 40+ awards to be given during the Film Festival Award ceremony and the winners will receive mentioned cash component as well a certificate and a medal/trophy.
The list of awards and prizes, rules and terms have been mentioned in the website https://filmfreeway.com/nffjk while the entries can be submitted at — https://filmfreeway.com/nffjk. The last date for receiving entries on the website is May 16, 2022.
Nearly five hours filled with performances of music, dance, spoken-words and films by artists from a diverse cultural heritage showed their anger, frustration against the ongoing violence and expressed their solidarity with the people of Ukraine, writes Prof. Geetha Upadhyaya
Prof. Geetha Upadhyaya
Curated by Ahmed Kaysher, the Director of Saudha, a series of haunting performances by a galaxy of 52 artists was presented at the Rich Mix theatre, East London. Kaysher said, “The event actually showcased the impact of the violence and war on artists’ imaginations and their responses against the current invasion of Russia in Ukraine as well as all forms of violence happening all around the world.
Nearly five hours filled with performances of music, dance, spoken-words and films by artists from a diverse cultural heritage showed their anger, frustration against the ongoing violence and expressed their solidarity with the people of Ukraine.
Poet and playwright John Farndon, who has been translating Ukrainian literature for many years, said ” This is simply a horror that no-one can just ignore. What can we writers do now against this invasion? The painful answer is not much. And this helplessness is even more depressing.”
A leading South Asian singer Gouri Chowdhury said “Could anyone have imagined a shameless aggression like this in 21 century? These atrocities almost became a TV show now. Ukraine is burning but it should have burnt the hearts of the global community, and the world should do more to stop this..”
Poet and theatre-activist Amy Neilson Smith, read her poem of powerful verses ” Our hearts stop, Thoughts of leaking breasts, torn tectonic plates, as fresh eggs are cracked, cooked & served on Putin’s cold plate.” .
Poet and fictionist Mona Dash ended her beautiful poem with hope – “By now, we know enough, to know, we must stop war! May the sunflowers bloom, the nightingales sing soon in Ukraine.”
Writer and composer Peter Culshaw who has written quite often about Ukraine for Guardian, Songlines, Odessa Review said, “Ukraine is a special place between a backward looking tired Europe and Russia run by an autocratic psychopath. The invasion was unprovoked as an imperialist fever dream. Ukraine a democratic, free, culturally rich country and had to be stamped on but will surely prevail.
“It was an incredible event with a true international mix of a wide variety of performances against war” that’s how Anastasiya Belovoba described the event.
BBC slum champion poet David Lee Morgan said, “The Ukrainian people are historically fighting back against a criminal and cowardly Russian invasion”.
Art & culture is the only thing that can spread peace everywhere! Saudha’s work & collectiveness are essential, inspiring & using art to conquer war mentality.”
For further information on the work of Saudha pleaae contact :
Talking about the last two years, Sinha says that the pandemic taught him humility and introduced him to the fact that we do not really have control over things…reports Asian Lite News
He grew up in an industrial environment and his father owned automobile factories. In the dusty, cacophonous surroundings, artist Narayan Sinha found beauty in mechanical mediums and was inspired to reimagine life through them.
As his latest solo exhibition of installations ‘Imbue’ opens at India Habitat Centre on April 27, showcasing diverse metallic and stone sculptural forms made from recycled found material, he says that it is a celebration of life and positivity after a period of several emotional lows.
“Post my ‘Firelight’ series that had negative overtones, I wanted to celebrate life through this one as the pandemic had taught me to live in the moment. This exhibition is a consequence of that sentiment,” he tells.
Considering Sinha’s last exhibition ‘Firelight’ was held in an old Kolkata mansion at Queens Park where the sculptural installations created a unique presence in the space, the artist says art galleries also work as facilitators to take art into newer spaces.
“By exhibiting in an old bungalow, I was trying to highlight the fact that ultimately nature engulfs all that we create for our pleasure and pride. What we spend a lifetime creating is so insignificant in the larger scheme of things. We as a society need to reflect on this.”
Stressing that his work always embraces nature in its diverse forms, which in turn leads to respecting our own natural identity, he adds, “My work is organic by nature. Nuances of life attract me and I love to play with scale. My sculptures must always be relatable to the common man and therefore natural, found, recycled materials find prominence in my work. The common man makes it a conversation piece because they identify with it.”
Talking about the last two years, Sinha says that the pandemic taught him humility and introduced him to the fact that we do not really have control over things.
“In short, it is important to live in the moment and be happy that we are. We were taken unawares when the pandemic hit us. I was in Nalhati village in West Bengal with my daughter, and there was no medical facility available. We were all struck by the virus and the only healing available was nature. For my daughter, all I had was the sunlight’s natural vitamin D, basil leaves and honey.”
While the lockdowns demonstrated that the country needed more private art bodies and foundations to support artists, Sinha feels that it is also high time to empower the state bodies.
“This is so better infrastructure and incentives can be provided to young artists, and they feel sheltered and cared for,” concludes the artist, who is set to work on some international projects in the near future.
The artworks have been hung, the performers have been prepared, and the India Art Fair is all set to celebrate Indian and South Asian art…reports Asian Lite News
The Fair which opens today in the Capital has a features a series of soirees and events around art and culture.
This calendar ensures you don’t miss out on the best it has to offer:
NFTEASE
April 30, 2022, 4 p.m.
Leading NFT artist Raghava K.K. and platforms Terrain.art and BeFantastic will demystify the world of NFTs.
THROUGH THEIR EYES: RAGHU RAI AND EMMANUEL LENAIN
May 1, 2022, 4 p.m.
Iconic Indian photographer and French Ambassador to India will discuss their passion for photography.
BMW ART TALK: ATUL DODIYA
April 30, 2022, 2 p.m.
Dodiya will be the first ever Indian artist to give the prestigious BMW Art Talk. THE CHANGE IS YOURS
May 1, 2022, 2 p.m.
Young artists and collectives will speak about the importance of peer-support and creative sustainable art platforms.
Performance art and outdoor Projects REFLEX: HETAIN PATEL
Location: Auditorium, April 30, 2022, 5 p.m.
The artist will reflect on his identity as a second generation British-Indian, using choreographed movements to explore his inherited family history.
GHAR-GHAR: GURJEET SINGH
Location: The Studio, April 28, 2022, 5 p.m.
A performance about child-like wonder and make believe featuring Singh’s signature soft sculptures.
THE FUTURE IS FEMME: ARAVANI ART PROJECT
Location: India Art Fair grounds
A massive 50-feet mural imagining a binary-free future, supported by Saffronart Foundation.
I LOOK AT THINGS WITH EYES DIFFERENT FROM YOURS: SHILPA GUPTA
Location: India Art Fair grounds
A special T-shirt designed by the artist being worn and brought to life by fair volunteers.
360 MINUTES OF REQUIEM: ARPITA AKHANDA
Location: The Studio, April 29, 2022 & April 30, 2022, 3 p.m.
Over two days of the fair, the artist will deconstruct 360 feet of barbed wire fence as a meditation on partitions and divisions.
ENGULF: NARAYAN SINHA
Location: India Art Fair grounds
A large metal sculpture pointing to balance and harmony in the midst of chaos, supported by Arts Ananda Trust.
Sign up for an art workshop
DOTS, LINES AND SHAPES
Location: Inclusion Lab, April 29, 2022, 11:30am
A workshop that demonstrates the many ways to interpret and perceive information.
INVITING NATURE: STOP-MOTION WORKSHOP
Location: Workshop Space, April 30, 2022, 3 p.m.
Learn how to make collages and short stop-motion animations reflecting your individual concerns about the environment.
GIFT A FLOWER, MAKE A FRIEND: PRINTMAKING WORKSHOP
Location: Workshop Space, April 29, 2022, 3 p.m.
Artist Paula Sengupta will lead a printmaking workshop, open to all.
SEEING ME THROUGH YOU: ART APPRECIATION WORKSHOP
Location: Workshop Space, April 29, 2022, 3:30pm & April 30, 2022, 2 p.m.
How do you begin to look at art? Join this guided workshop perfect for those making their start in art.
Amarnath and Ram Chand had come to Kashmir from Gurdaspur (Punjab) in 1905. In 1915, they started a photo shop in a houseboat on the Jhelum River in uptown Srinagar city…reports Sheikh Qayoom
“You just can’t have enough of Kashmir”. Two brothers, Amarnath Mehta and Ram Chand Mehta, who came to Kashmir as tourists in 1915, proved the adage. Their visit was literally a homecoming as they decided to live in Kashmir since their passion for photography could just not have a better means of expression than in the mesmerising Valley, its royal grandeur, and the simplicity of its people.
For three generations, the Mehtas have believed that Kashmir is the Mecca for a photographer and photo lovers.
Amarnath and Ram Chand had come to Kashmir from Gurdaspur (Punjab) in 1905. In 1915, they started a photo shop in a houseboat on the Jhelum river in uptown Srinagar city.
Subsequently, they shifted to a shop on the embankment of the Jhelum river, where the studio stands today as ‘Mahatta and Co’. The change of name from ‘Mehta’ to ‘Mahatta’ is a story in itself. Ghulam Muhammad Sofi, who joined the studio on February 2, 1972 said: “The name ‘Mehta’ was mispronounced by British tourists as ‘Mahatta’ and that is what finally became our brand name”. He said Ram Chand Mehta treated his staff, including Sofi like his own children.
“After his death in 1994, Jagdish Mehta took over. He would always tell us that since the elder Mehta called us his sons, so we were his brothers.”
As coincidence would have it, Ram Chand Mehta, his wife and son Jagdish all passed away on 23rd June though in different years”, Sofi recalled. His 50 years at the Mahattas have been a saga in time and photography. “On behalf of the Mahattas, I was officially engaged as the photographer for VVIP functions in Kashmir. “I have taken pictures of late Indira Gandhi, Gaini Zail Singh, Neelam Sanjiva Reddy, Sheikh Muhammad Abdullah and other senior leaders.
“Among the film stars, I have photographed Dilip Kumar, Saira Banu, Rajesh Khanna and Jagdeep during their visits to Kashmir”.
He misses the old times like a child who has lost all his toys.”Taking pictures, retouching them, processing films, marching colours etc in the studio was an art which is all vanished now. You shoot with a digital phone or camera these days and that it.”
Photography has ceased to be an art it used to be earlier. The Mahattas were the first to start colour photography in Delhi and Srinagar in 1957. Except for Mumbai, these were the only two places where colour photography was available those days”, he said. For his incomplete venture, ‘Zooni’ featuring the life and times of Kashmiri Queen, Habba Khatoun, film maker, Muzaffar Ali had engaged Sofi for picking up the locales for the film. “I visited different villages with Muzaffar Ali to select the native village of Habba Khatoun. “He finally picked up a place near Harwan outside Srinagar city, but the film was never completed”, Sofi said.
The passion and business of ‘Mahattas’ knew no bounds after 1915. The studio initially became known for portraits as it was first such place to have all kinds of props and backgrounds the customers desired to have. Their business grew exponentially. They established photo studios in Lahore, Sialkot, Rawalpindi and at the Murree hill station in Pakistan.
These studios had to be closed with the country’s partition in 1947, but after that, they started a bigger photo studio at Connaught Place in Delhi which was closed just a few years back. Ram Chand Mehta’s son, Jagdish Mehta managed the studio till his death in 2016 and his wife, Anita Mehta runs the studio these days. She said, “We have spent three generations in continuing our legacy. From preservation of local art, culture, crafts, customs, heritage, tourism and politics, we have all this preserved frame by frame in our gallery”. She said the family wants to return some part of the greatness Kashmir has bestowed on them.
“For me keeping up the family tradition and legacy is a worship. My two sons work in Delhi and we have the largest photo stock agency in the World. So you understand that we have not been deterred by losses in business and other troubles which we faced like every other Kashmiri.”
Photography in its pure and traditional form has a future which cannot be taken away by anything. Technology comes as an asset and not as an enemy to the art form”, she said. Her two sons come frequently to visit their mother and take keen interest in the affairs of the studio in Srinagar. “This place is our place of worship which we can never imagine to give up”, she said while talking of the studio the family owns. “The first floor of our establishment is a work place for young, talented local photographers and artists.
“At the ground floor, we run a cafe where the young and old gather to view our photo gallery and discuss the events of the bygone days as also the impact of this grand heritage on the future of this place”, Anita said.
The photo gallery at the Mahattas is in fact a ‘who is who’ of not only Kashmir, but the entire country. There are photographers of Maharaja Hari Singh, his royal Durbar, his son and first regent of the state, Karan Singh, Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Sheikh Abdullah, V.P.Singh, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and many others. These are original photographs taken by the Mahattas and none of them is a reproduction from anywhere. Similarly, they have originals photographs of the Amarnath Holy Cave taken at different points of time. The Hazratbal shrine, the Sharika Devi Temple, the shrine of Sheikh Humza Makhdoom, the shrine of Sheikh Nuruddin Wali at Chrar-e-Sharief and other Sufi shrines of Kashmir.
The photographs of snow clad mountains, rivers, springs, artisans at work like carpet weavers, shawl makers, papier machie workers, willow wicker workers, mat weavers, potters etc also dot the gallery. Different races of Kashmir, the Gujjars, Dogras, Kashmiris, Ladakhis, Dards also known as Shinas and others have been photographed in their natural settings. Since the outbreak of armed violence in early 1990s, business for the Mahattas also took a beating like everything else.
Anita’s two sons are now working in Delhi while the lady is carrying on the family legacy in Kashmir. In 2012, government of India recognised the Mahatta studio as the second oldest photo studio in the country. The Mahattas became the royal photographers of the Dogra Maharaja Hari Singh in 1930s.
“This gave us free access to the royal Durban (Court) and the palace which no other photographer had till that time”, said Ms Mehta. Visiting the Mahattas on the Bund in Srinagar is like visiting the Mecca of photography in Kashmir. Within minutes of looking at the photo gallery, one is transported into the times gone by. The glory and grandeur of Kashmir is visible, frame by frame, picture by picture at the Mahattas.
Her works use only a single pigment – black – which is conventionally not part of the colour wheel, and also helps bring about high contrast…reports Asian Lite News
‘Codes of a Future, Traces of the Ancient’, a solo exhibition by contemporary artist
was recently inaugurated at the Treasure Art Gallery (TAG) here. Curated by Sanjana Shah and Inspired by how mathematical concepts intersect in nature, life, and the cosmos, the works will be on display till May 20.
The 10 works on display include three large-sized paintings in 7X5 feet scale that make up a series called intersections. These are based on her understanding of planetary positions, the interactions between the planets, and particularly the Sun, Moon, and the stars.
Through a process of working within vertical and horizontal grids using scales, protractors, and beam compasses, Anni traced the intersection points of these grids, creating a range of diagonals and spiral patterns. The process began with a set of drawings where she plotted natural numbers on square and spiral grids and then creating a pattern by selecting only the points corresponding to prime numbers.
As these unique patterns started emerging, the artist began exploring the relationships between specific patterns in geography and cosmology, particularly ‘physical cosmology’, by studying observations about the universe’s origin, its large-scale structures and the dynamics between cosmic bodies. The two most prominent and prevalent shapes in her work are squares and circles, referencing cosmic phenomena like eclipses, and the Luni-solar calendar, also known as the Panchang.
Her works use only a single pigment – black – which is conventionally not part of the colour wheel, and also helps bring about high contrast. The white parts of her canvas, intentionally left blank, add to the duality of her compositions, which are both minimal and dynamic, and draw in the viewer by demonstrating both centripetal as well centrifugal properties.
Anni credits Indian traditional art and temple architecture as one of her most prominent inspirations, which emulate the primordial shapes of circles and squares, with calculated precision being used in even the simplest of designs like the Rangoli design pattern of Kolam in Tamil Nadu or the monochrome geometry in the Khovar folk art of Jharkhand. As such, she has observed that these patterns are inherently rooted in ideas of growth and consciousness, with these spaces and practices being energy centres for many people.
The artist shared: “I draw inspiration from my experience of regularly visiting ancient monuments and temples, which were often built using mathematical ratios and fractals, where singular patterns were repeated again and again to create large forms. My works are also inspired by the ancient floor drawing tradition from Tamil Nadu called ‘Kolam’, as well as geometrical motifs from the traditional folk art of Jharkhand’s Hazaribagh area, known as Khovar.
“Each of these aspects has defined the palette, the concentric circles and lines, and the ‘animated’ quality of my works. However, beyond the conceptual frameworks that these helped create, my paintings also carry nuances of my personal interpretations based on my experiences, as well as narratives from mythology, ritualistic practices, the experience of living in different geographies of Jamshedpur, Delhi, and Rishikesh, and the socio-personal background I grew up with.”
Patterns and repetition are fundamental aspects of the world around us, carrying imprints of the past and signs of the future. Embodying exactly this unique balance by being both a native of methodological scientific temperament and a practitioner of fluid creativity, the artist expresses her deepest inner self and thoughts through her work.
While she has worked and continues to work with a range of mediums including graphite, charcoal, ink, and watercolour pencils on paper, the event focuses primarily on acrylic and oil on canvas as a medium. She is currently working on several large-scale drawings based on ancient astronomical instruments known as yantras, as found in the Jantar Mantar observatories in Delhi and Jaipur.
Mitra’s works straddle steel, aluminium, banana silk, stoneware ceramics, resin andmany other materials, reflecting intense conversations between folds and materials…writes Sukant Deepak
He quotes Plato – “Geometry aims at the eternal.” Origami artist Ankon Mitra feels that we have short lives as humans at the timescale of the universe. That despite the fact that there is little we understand, we spend most of our lives bickering and negotiating with others over specious matters. “We have many conflicts and differences of culture, language, religion and opinion. Geometry (through ‘folding’) offers us an opportunity to paper over these differences and speak a universal language. It also offers us a rare chance to converse directly with ourselves – the act of folding is repetitive, it is like turning rosary beads in one’s hands,” he tells.
As his solo ‘A Pilgrim’s Progress’, presented by Gallery Art Positive and curated by Uma Nair gets set to open on April 26 at Bikaner House in the capital, Mitra says that it is immediacy, intimacy and simplicity of the act of folding that makes it sublime. “One sheet of paper is all that is required to make a beginning. No tools, brushes, paints, cutting, adding or removing – only transformation – of that sheet of paper, and of ourselves,” says the artist who will be presenting his third solo which comes after a gap of six years.
A suite of 22 new works has been created exclusively for this occasion, underlining an eclectic synthesis of elements from several art historical movements associated with origami, including design dynamics in light, space and the magic of folded forms.
Mitra’s works straddle steel, aluminium, banana silk, stoneware ceramics, resin andmany other materials, reflecting intense conversations between folds and materials.
It was in fact a chance talk with a gardener at the Kew Gardens that led him to a keener observation of the folded world all around him.
Adding that nature uses folds to accomplish many tasks, to be frugal, to make weak materials strong, to create flexibility, to save energy, ultimately to do more with less, he says, “Visual beauty is a by-product of the processes and systems of folding. From rivers snaking through a landscape (path of least resistance) to our eyelids (multi-tasking), from branches of trees (folds build strength and balance against gravity) to our brains (hundreds of thousands of kilometres of neural matter folded and packed into a very small volume), the accomplishments of nature through folding are astonishing and awe-inspiring. My art is a direct response to my ongoing research and documentation of folding systems across diverse natural phenomena.”
The artist feels that things around us connect and form intricate woven patterns, though often it feels like a ball of jumbled and knotted wool and layers of obfuscation. “I have realized it is best to start with a very simple seed and to then let the seed become a gigantic tree on its own, through slow nurture and gradual comprehension. In this show, for instance, the simple premise was ‘A Pilgrim’s Progress’.”
Mitra says that there is an increased interest in Origami as a tool to learn and expand the mind, as a teaching aid in subjects like Mathematics and Geometry, in schools as well as colleges of architecture, engineering and design. “Origami is moving beyond flapping cranes, paper boats and aeroplanes. I get invited to conduct workshops at schools and colleges – to connect new ways of thinking (and doing) with traditional pedagogy. The simplicity and immediacy of the technique render itself well for this.”
For someone who has an ongoing love affair with Japanese words which have no English equivalents – Komorebi (sunlight filtering through the leaves of trees), Kintsugi or Kintsukuroi (gold joinery or gold mending), Ikigai (a reason for being), Gyotaku (fish-stone impression), he smiles, “I respond to the words directly and find they are able to powerfully shape my response to them.”
