Triloka, a recent art show at Shrishti Art Gallery, features works by three up-and-coming artists. The young Indian painters, Rohan V Anvekar, Madhukar Mucharla, and Jayeeta Chatterjee illustrate their distinctive styles, mediums, and thoughts. As we approach the show, we can hear the different voices of these fledgling artists who drew their inspiration and ideas from diverse and challenging topics. The exhibition explores social concerns like migration and identity through the works of Madhukar Mucharla, the disappearing craft of Kantha stitching communicated by Jayeeta Chatterjee’s woodcut prints, and human interaction with the environment through Rohan Anvekar’s surrealism.
The group exhibit introduces a collection of works by these three inventive artists, who have honed their visual language by pushing the boundaries of the medium and putting forth the skill they have sharpened over time. Following the display, we ran into Madhukar Mucharla, who hails from the Telangana village of Nandi Wanaparthy. His art draws from the struggles of migrant labourers who walked through congested areas back to their villages when the Covid-19 pandemic was ravaging our country. Madhukar saw these labourers, their possessions, and the makeshift homes they had constructed. A young Madhukar watched his father craft leather into musical instruments, drums, and shoes.
He used this creative medium while also being inspired by Tholu Bommalata, or leather puppetry, a well-liked folk art form in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.“Although I began with self-portraits, during my master’s programme, I started using mediums, other than paint, to represent the oppressed community. Since my father worked as a shoemaker, I chose animal leather as my creative medium. I would see him collect goat and ox skin, how it is processed and then made into beautiful shoes and accessories,” he says. Rohan V Anvekar is another such artist, with his paintings demonstrating his sincere concern for the environment. Rohan uses humour as a mechanism to reach out to his audience and invoke contemplation.
“My purpose is to create awareness amongst the viewers of my work and reflect on society,” he says. On the contrary, Jayeeta’s art practice revolves around homemakers. Hailing from Santiniketan, West Bengal, she works across all mediums, combining printmaking, textiles and embroidery. Her artwork chronicles the plight of homemakers immersed in mundane existence, while at times, being interrupted by moments of rest. Similarly, her trajectory of colours highlight the idea of change surrounding people and their lifestyles. “My own experiences as a woman from the middle-class milieu influence my art and the artistic medium I choose to work with,” she says.
The exhibit will continue till October 24 at Shrishti Art Gallery in Jubilee Hills. Closed on Mondays.
E-mail: chokita@newindianexpress.com
Twitter: @PaulChokita