Artist Natasha Datta Roy’s latest exhibition is an ode to her home, childhood, and memories in the hills

Her third solo exhibition – Sylvan Reverie- is all about childhood, memories and home. Artist Natasha Datta Roy narrates how the “tea garden painting called Home is inspired by the airport that we have in Silchar, which is actually inside a tea estate. The moment I see a tea estate, that’s what flashes in my memory – it's home." Or how the gold specks in her work Dream II is all about her sister and her belief in buried underground treasures for which they dug up the earth as children.

What to look forward to in Natasha D Roy’s recent exhibition, Sylvan Reverie?

These narratives is what make every landscape image hung up in the South Gallery of the Academy of Fine Arts so special, not only for the artist but also for the viewers, for they too interact with her childhood anecdotes and remember their own carefree days.

A good look around the gallery and one would find various facets of nature depicted through landscapes across time, seasons, and place, most a reminder of the lush landscape that one now ‘escapes’ to during vacations, but once was a part of our everyday surroundings. While bright sky blues, yellows and orange depicts the days, the deep blues and purples signal the dusk and dark blues with dots of yellows representing fireflies or white full moons are all about the dark nights where contemplation reaches its maximum.

Talking about the theme of the exhibition Sylvan Reveries, Natasha mentions, “It is about longing, going back and the green childhood that I had. I came to Kolkata years ago, but I still have my home and family in Assam. My roots are still there, although my branches are in Kolkata. This is the same metaphor to symbolise the trees. When I see a tree, that’s what comes to my mind.”

For someone who has never been to the hills or witnessed the natural sceneries, would feel drawn to the serpentine roads drawn from the individual’s perspective, which almost calls you to pack your bags and begin the journey. The River of Glass, with a boat oared on the crystal clear waters of Meghalaya or large trees with innumerable roots gutting out in acrylic on paper, watercolour on paper, and mixed media on paper, gives a 3D effect to each of the paintings, making them come alive and almost draw you in.   

What caught our eye was the work Forest Flame. At the onset, it would seem like brown branches with flowers on them. But on a deeper level, it resonates with the pop-of colour being a symbol of hope. Even in the most dark, silent and hopeless days, like those flowers on the branches, hope will find a way to you.

The second, which has been previously talked about is the River of Glass, perceived not only as a scene from the North East but also as an example of the rare man-nature peaceful co-existence where both need the other but respect the boundaries instead of one dominating the other. The visual Midnight Reverie is equally interesting, portraying the calm, still night and yet within that calmness lies when memories start coming back to you, the restlessness experienced on those silent nights is more than when you find yourself in a crowd.

Natasha’s works not just spotlights landscapes, but home, identity, belonging, and memories making one really wait, soak in the visuals and the meanings, contemplating before moving on to the next. But the thought of ‘what is home’ and ‘where you come from’ will definitely linger on your mind long after you have left the gallery space.

What: Sylvan Reverie

Where: South Gallery, Academy of Fine Arts, Kolkata

When: till October 31, 2025

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