Painter Runa Biswas channels Bengali fairytales for her new exhibition

Rooted in the memories of Thakurmar Jhuli tales by Dakshinaranjan Mitra Majumdar, Runa Biswas’s latest exhibit — Imprints of Reminiscence — recreates the fantasy land and carnivals on canvas with a modern touch. In association with the MKF Museum of Art, the city-based artist unveils a collection of artworks that remind the viewers of famous characters such Lal Kamal and Nil Kamal and little moments of joy, one enjoys during childhood.

We catch up with the artist for a quick conversation about what one can expect from her show. “This series is a walk through the carefree and happy childhood days. I have chosen a blast of colours and subjects that dwell in the realm of fantasy meets reality,” Runa begins.

Runa is a self-taught artist who over the years has developed a contemporary style informed by Mughal and Rajasthani miniature paintings, Indian folk art and Kalighat Patachitra. The art works in this series follow a mix of European and Indian miniature style, featuring Lal Kamal and Nil Kamal as protagonists, who can be spotted across eight or nine works.

“There are also works like subseries in this set of works, which is Carnival of Life. These are my interpretations of a fantasy land with cotton candies, acrobats, circus and flute players. These things represent the yesteryear mela. The show also features a bioscope, a device through which we could see some reels,” she shares.

Runa brings to life the bygone day’s bioscope attached to the shaft of an old gramophone that plays from a record, which is also reminiscent of those nostalgic days. “One can view art inside the gramophone when you peep through the glass, which are my paintings rolling from one side to the other but there is art on the outside too. The collection features paintings of the trapeze game, village fair and a giant wheel with two sisters chit-chatting in a semi-abstract format,” she reveals.

The colour palette boasts primary hues such as yellow, red and blue to depict the happy and cheerful childhood days. “I have used very complex texture techniques like I have used medical gauze, threads and even salt. Like the palette is vivid and also the texture is also very interesting because the texture which I have created is the result of a lot of experimentation through my art journey,” she signs off.

December 10 to 21. At Lavelle Road.