Academy of Fine Arts is set to host an exhibition of artist Ballari Mukherjee’s drawings at the West Hall. The exhibition will have 15-20 drawings on display, with varied themes, such as the changing form of human relationships, personal memories or journeys or even a scene from daily life. Her works depict the mortal life but arrive at abstract meanings. Whether it is about human emotions and feelings or a social metaphor, her carefully chosen motifs give her artworks an edge of uniqueness and meaning which prevents it from becoming stereotypical.
“Although I paint too, drawing and doodling, comes very naturally to me. It flows easily with my thoughts and the final work sometimes reaches another plane, which I had not planned,” says the 55 year old artist. She uses pen & ink, watercolours and dry pastels on Fabriano or Canson paper in her works, such as Ecosystem, At Last at The Band of Beautiful Flower, Show stopper and others. “I choose my colours intuitively, depending on what will convey my thoughts better. Sometimes I feel, the colour red will amplify my idea and I choose likewise, although it is not my favourite colour,” adds the student of Government College of Art and Craft.
The drawings are a mix of some of her recent and old works. “Ecosytem depicts all humans as a part of the larger ecosystem, but I made the drawing, indicating that there are avenues which human beings can explore, outside of it,” she adds. “Show stopper is another favourite of mine, where I have tried to depict the world of fashion, alongside a metaphor-with a bird sitting on a hand, which has a necklace in it. I wanted to convey the restrictions of a glamorous life in this one,” she explains.
An untitled work, where she has used black pen and Conté crayons on yellow paper has a small central image, in the likeness of an auto, and a large cupboard at the bottom-left of the panel. The cupboard, houses many faces and depicts the various memories which we store within the oft-ignored furniture, while the remaining panel focuses on motifs from day-to-day life.
At Last at The Band of Beautiful Flower arrives at the indirect meaning of a fruitful journey, depicted very aptly with a flower blooming. Two artworks based on the same theme, in silver and golden shades, depict a personal journey through small motifs of ships, garments and birds. While the presence of jewellery in one symbolises a women’s journey, the other turns out to be that of a man and both convey the differences inherent in the experiences of the two people.
Ballari Mukherjee’s drawings will be on display at the Academy of Fine Arts, West Hall from January 21-27.