Prinseps returns with the second edition of its exhibition: Bharat Through the Lens of Bhanu Athaiya. With over 50 exhibits to showcase, the event not only featured the works of Bhanu Athaiya, but also her personal heirloom textile pieces, oil and water paintings, as well as exquisite sketches and costumes designed for iconic films such as Lagaan and Gandhi.
Curated by Brijeshwari Kumari Gohil, the recent edition at Aguad, Goa, extended an invitation to art enthusiasts and cultural connoisseurs to delve into the extraordinary career of Bhanu Athaiya, the creative genius who won India’s first-ever Oscar award. Prinseps introduced this exhibition with its first edition at Bikaner House, New Delhi in January last year, providing visitors with a comprehensive overview of Bhanu Athaiya’s remarkable legacy. Spanning an illustrious six-decade career (1929-2020), Bhanu Athaiya reshaped Indian fashion and pioneered the role of the costume designer.
The event explores her unique perspective on India and the profound impact of her work and serves as a celebration of her contributions as an artist, illustrator, film and theatre costume designer and art advertisement conceptualist. Born in Princely India, Bhanu Athaiya worked during a period of India’s transition into a democratic nation. Her surroundings played a pivotal role in her artistic evolution, inspiring her to initially pursue painting and later venture into the world of costume design. While at the event, we spoke to the curator, Brijeshwari Kumari Gohil, to learn more about the highlights of the exhibition, the significance of this period for artists; and how India’s culture, nature and heritage played an instrumental role in shaping Bhanu Athaiya as both an artist and a designer.
What inspired you to curate the second edition of Bharat Through the Lens of Bhanu Athaiya?
Following three years of documentation, Prinseps had always planned to focus on exhibiting Bhanu Athaiya’s archives through different narratives. The first exhibition I curated titled, The Legacy of Bhanu Athaiya, aimed to be an introduction to the artist where we presented a very straightforward narrative. There were always subsequent exhibitions planned as one exhibition on an artist with six decades of pioneering work could never be enough. Note that we are celebrating six decades of creativity of a genius, who never highlighted herself. We will have many more exhibitions due to the diversity of her art.
How is this edition different from the first one?
Bharat Through the Lens of Bhanu Athaiya was aimed at shedding light on how Bhanu as an artist and designer was inspired by India. Be it the place she was born in (Princely India) or the city she came to learn art (erstwhile Bombay) or the places she travelled to within the Indian subcontinent to learn about culture, heritage, customs and traditions. Each region and experience left a mark on her and we see this in her paintings, costume sketches and costumes. In Bhanus’s own words handwritten in a letter “Our colonial education and our consequent fascination with the west stunts us.”
What aspects of Bhanu Athaiya’s life and work do you believe make this exhibition a unique celebration of her legacy?
As we research more, we have added additional insights into her early years and what made Bhanu the artist she was. And have also started to highlight the making of costumes and compared them side by side to film stills. Prinseps has been fortunate to have had the opportunity to archive her estate and learn about her life and work. As one digs deeper into her archives, one is left speechless, overwhelmed and in awe of the diverse body of work she has done.
How does this exhibition contribute to preserving and showcasing Bhanu Athaiya’s multifaceted contributions?
This exhibition and the subsequent ones aim to narrate the life of Bhanu Athaiya through different angles and perspectives. We have broken exhibitions down in this manner, given the diversity of her work and the sheer volume of it. The exhibition highlights her contributions through personal anecdotes, art, costumes and fashion sketches, which showcase the various chapters of her life. In terms of preservation, Prinseps has digitised and documented her entire estate with the hope of being able to share such narratives with the audience. Again, piece by piece we are researching various aspects of her creativity. It is a difficult task. For example, we have inputs from Zeenat Aman in this exhibition. Bhanu designed many costumes for her, many iconic and many designs breaking many of the stereotypes.
Can you elaborate on some key highlights of the exhibition, particularly those that provide insights into Bhanu Athaiya’s personal and professional journey?
One of her most important paintings, Lady in Repose, is a key highlight of the exhibition. It was this work that she won the gold medal (which will also be displayed) at JJ College of Arts. This made her the first female artist to achieve this honour. A beautiful painting titled Rang Mahotsav will also be part of the exhibition. This piece has never been exhibited before. Fashion illustrations created by her are also part of the exhibition. Some of these, previously, have been bought by fashion designers such as Manish Malhotra. There are of course several costumes as well. All are equally important in understanding her versatility as a designer and the love she had for India.
The exhibition features talks with prominent figures. What prompted the choice of topics like Breaking Stereotype and Emergent Influences of the late 1930s and 40s?
Breaking Stereotypes is a subsection of the exhibition, which looks at the boldness of some of Bhanu Athaiya’s designs. We only felt it appropriate to extend that title towards a discussion with Zeenat Aman given how she has paved the way for a female actress and continues to be an influencer and inspirational figure. Emergent Influences of the late 1930s and 40s were chosen keeping in mind that what was going on in the world of art, cinema and design globally was important in shaping Bhanu Athaiya, the artist and the designer. Gayatri Sinha aims to bring fresh information and perspective with the help of the Bhanu Athaiya archives digitised by Prinseps.
The exhibition includes heirloom textile pieces of Bhanu Athaiya herself. Can you share any anecdotes or stories related to the personal artifacts that will be on display?
Bhanu Athaiya had meticulously stored heirloom textile pieces passed down to her from her mother in a chest. Prinseps has had all these textiles documented by the Lakshmi Vilas Palace Museum, Vadodara. One of these saris has been draped for the exhibition while others, given their fragile nature, have been displayed in a glass vitrine. Bhanu Athaiya also preserved and used her mother‘s sewing machine. We are fortunate to have this antique piece as one of the exhibits, which provides the viewer a glimpse into her early life influences.
How does the exhibition capture her journey within this influential artistic collective?
The exhibition tries to show her versatility and the different periods in her life that led to her shift and growth from her childhood days, being exposed to a princely kingdom where art was patronised. Along with her family influences and exposure that led her to JJ College, being the first and only female artist as part of the Progressive Artist Group, being one of the only costume designers of the 1950-60s and perhaps the one to have designed one of the first fashion shows of India. We aim to narrate her story through various platforms and exhibitions, this show being the second of many.
email: srushti@newindianexpress.com
X: @Sru_Kulkarni
