Bringing together the work of 23 artists in an exploration of identity, love, faith, grief and nature, Transition: A Continuity to Change represents the changing identities of artists and their art, of living traditions and their transition to something more, and the ebb and flow of cultural identity.
Focusing on the idea that artists don’t have to start from scratch but can draw from a long history for inspiration in order to change and progress, curator Attri Chetan put together the work of artists whose work captures the conversation between Indian and Western art.
Working primarily in handbuilt ceramics, Delhi-based sculptor Srinia Chowdhury creates layered characters using form, colour, costume and surface. Drawing from personal observation, Indian visual traditions, folklore and popular culture, she translates familiar references into contemporary characters that hold vulnerability, contradiction and resilience. Sculptures from Srinia’s Costume Party series and ceramic wall plates from I AM I both engage with the tension between personal and socially constructed identities from different directions.
“Costume Party looks at the roles and expectations society places on us, using imagined characters and costumes to explore the versions of ourselves we learn to perform. I AM I, on the other hand, turns inward, using hand-carved sgraffito imagery and text on ceramic plates to reflect on individuality, imperfections and self-acceptance,” Srinia explains.
Looking closely at Meitei cultural traditions, Manipuri artist Thokchom Tommy Devi is particularly interested in the movement of the human body. Two of her works, Lai Ekouba and Lai Lam Thokpa, are both linked to Lai Haraoba, a traditional and ritualistic festival celebrated by the Meitei community in Manipur. “The gestures, posture and the movement through the lens of cultural traditions all somehow hold a memory and meaning for me. I was drawn to the procession, the movement of a palanquin, and bodies moving together,” she explains.
Speaking about his work, The Book of Living Chronicles, artist Navanshu Kumar explores a visual manuscript of unseen lives. “Different stories and experiences come together to form something larger, almost like an epic of ordinary life. The figures carry fragments of resilience, memory, migration, struggle and everyday existence. It is like a book that is constantly being written through the lives of different generations,” he explains. Working primarily with mixed media, using traditional mediums like acrylics alongside textural mediums like rice and clothes, the materials used embody stories of their own.
Observing people and the places they share, artist Mona Sharma focuses on how spaces hold memory and emotion with her series, titled Look Around. “My work comes from observing the spaces and moments around me and feeling personally connected to them. The works are inspired by everyday things — a neighbour’s house, a dog waiting outside, or the trees passed during a walk. These familiar surroundings often go unnoticed, but through this series I try to pay attention to their quiet presence and the emotions attached to them,” she explains.
Showcasing the work of artists with different interpretations of the exhibition’s themes, viewers are presented with an opportunity to immerse themselves in the various adaptations of universal expressions.
On view till Sept 23. 11 am to 7 pm. At EkChitra Art Gallery, HITEC City.