The decision to shift paradigms for an established artist most often comes from a place of deep inspiration and hence, when we came to know that city-based artist Aarohi Singh’s upcoming exhibition Déja Vu will mark her transition from portraiture to landscapes, we could not help but feel really curious.
“Faces and their micro-expressions fascinate me. People fascinate me. I have usually shied away from landscapes and the like. While I have worked on many different supports and surfaces with different mediums, this series is a departure from the norm for me as there are absolutely no faces,” says the artist, who had her first solo show at (Triveni Kala Sangam of Delhi) in 1994.
The paintings in Déja Vu are inspired by nature and its everpresent mode of regeneration. The artist has used foliage scapes as a metaphor for the growth and renewal through the hard times she has undergone personally. With the recent changes in global weather patterns and the seeming increase in temperature in this city, it seemed a good time to focus on the lushness and fecundity of nature, explains the artist.
And what might be the inspiration behind such a departure? “A trip to Sri Lanka a couple of years ago and another to Koh Phangan a few months ago, gave me time to pause and reflect. The entire theme for tropical flowers and foliage came from these two trips. Being in the quiet serenity of nature allowed me to start to think of work again but without any preconceived ideas or notions of what I should do or not,” Aarohi tells us. “Actually, even the sparrows I painted are directly inspired by the sparrows one sees at Kempegowda International Airport. It struck me that they are now so rare to see... so, I decided to paint them surrounded by flowers and leaves,” she further explains.
The fatigue due to the pandemic has also given impetus to her work. “I have always looked to nature whenever I needed to unwind and rejuvenate. With the last few years of COVID-19 and some health issues, I just felt the need to reboot my thoughts and feelings. Nature provided that inspiration again,” she says.
The desire for rejuvenation has found its way into the colour palette. The artworks feature a multitude of greens, used with bits of intense colours for the flowers thrown in. Two of the larger works displayed play around with a lot of light and shadow. So, there are areas of intense darkness, leaning into an almost black, on those two canvases.
Of late, the rise in popularity of minimalism has breathed new life into the concept of functional art and that has found its way to Aarohi’s work as well. “In this exhibition, you will see my work on aluminum plates, buckets and kettles as well as on more traditional mediums like board and canvas. There are also two paintings on reclaimed wood papered with newspaper,” she elucidates. In this exhibition, Aarohi has also given free rein to a mix of realism and abstraction in some pieces and a healthy dose of graphic elements in others.
However, one similarity that the paintings in the new series have with her earlier works is that they too reflect Aarohi’s personal style, which she describes to be very reflective of her mood. “Though I am drawn to vibrant colors, I can see the beauty in muted tones of grey and earth as well. I have been told I have a very vibrant personality and I guess that reflects in my work,” the artist says.
Before drawing curtains on the conversation, the artist also gave us a sneak peek into what we can expect from her next. “Once this show is over, I start to work on another collection of products from my studio and another collection of artwork based on theyyam and kathakali,” she says.
Entry free. November 4-5, 11 am. At The Bangalore Room, Indiranagar.
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Twitter: @MallikPrattusa