It’s hard to describe what one feels walking through Sakshi Gallery’s selection of works titled Interface. Maybe it’s because the chosen artists are so strikingly different — belonging to different nationalities, using completely diametrically opposite forms of genre, with so many different and unusual things to say.
Near the entrance NS Harsha, winner of the 2008 Artes Mundi Prize, greets you with some strong comments on society. In pencil sketches interspersed with light bursts of colour, the artist talks of an issue close to his heart — the commercialisation of the world. A huge foot is slowly crushing a skeleton coughing up blood — the visual, though gory, is highly effective; it makes the viewer aware of the plight of the
ordinary man being overwhelmed by the weight of the ever-evolving world.
As you leave Harsha’s space and movetowards the right of the room, Shahzia Sikander’s etchings catch you unawares. Her view of the world is almost fairytale-like. There are real faces and real places that stare back at you, all hanging in a frame as if floating.
A colourful installation by LN Tallur makes sure it grabs attention instantly. As the figures are pumped with air, you recognize them as the various body parts — your digestive system, for one. In Ablution; after the spiritual bath, Tallur fascinates with his interpretation of the everyday world, giving a colourful twist to mundane chores.
Bhupen Khakhar’s moving watercolours are close by. Everyday life makes an appearance once again, but in a much more muted manner.
Move a little ahead and Korean artist Young Sun Lim’s installation of sculpted human heads depicting different stages of a man’s life, surrounded by blue light bulbs, have a lot to say. The world is too restricted, Lim seems to be lamenting.
Not far away are the photographs of Chuck Close. An American artist whose portraits do the impossible — one look at them is all it takes. Close has not photographed people, but their souls. The images appear a little out of focus, thereby giving shape to a halo that surrounds each face. Stirring and extraordinarily evocative, his skill is easy to comprehend.
Retrace your steps and you see Ravinder Reddy’s imposing sculpture. The woman has the typical wide eyes and full face — very much an ode to womankind as well as the Indian sculptural tradition.
As you walk out, you feel a strange sense of completeness. It could be because you have just been given a glimpse into the lives of others.
Interface, Sakshi Gallery, till June 7
Comments
