Deepak Shinde’s latest exhibition examines nature, mythology and coexistence
Coexistence can take many forms, from the fragile relationship between humans and wildlife to the ways faith, mythology and memory shape our understanding of the natural world. These threads tie up artist Deepak Shinde’s latest exhibition, The Bombay Flora Chronicle. Curated by Sumesh Sharma, the exhibition brings together rhinoceroses, birds, floods, sacred rituals and imagined worlds, it imagines how different forms of life survive alongside one another. Currently on view at Gallery Art & Soul, Worli, we speak to the artist about the ideas behind the exhibition, the stories that shaped the works and his new approach to making them.
The Mumbai exhibition brings together Deepak Shinde’s recent mixed-media works
Your new exhibition brings together works inspired by animals, mythology, faith and human experience. What was the starting point for The Bombay Flora Chronicle, and what ideas connect the works?
Throughout my six-decade career, I have felt a constant need to keep exploring. I later moved towards figurative and socio-economic subjects connected to the world around me, and then began using animals as forms and allegories. I believe that art must evolve, and an artist must continue to challenge himself.
Looking back, I can see that coexistence has remained an underlying concern throughout my work: our coexistence as human beings, as a society, and as one species among many within a larger environment.
The Bombay Flora Chronicle grew from several subjects that had remained in my imagination. I wondered what might happen if visitors from another world arrived on Earth and encountered birds before humans. I thought about the deep commitment of people entering the Ganges for a holy dip, looking beyond the possible dangers around them because of their faith. I also returned to my fascination with The Jungle Book, reimagining its story with a girl rather than a boy.
The exhibition introduces a new medium and format to your practice. How did that shift come about?
The new medium began during COVID, when I was homebound and unable to travel to my studio. At home, I began using smaller materials that were available to me. That process led me towards mixed media, a smaller format and an entirely new visual language.
The title The Bombay Flora Chronicle brings Bombay into the story. What does ‘Flora’ signify here?
However, Flora here refers to the goddess at Flora Fountain in Bombay. For me, Flora Fountain represents the many people who have arrived in this city in search of a livelihood, a future and a place for themselves. I was no different. I came to Bombay to pursue a life and career in art.