The exhibition will be on view from Monday 15th Sept. 2014....
In Search of Light
As a kid, my visits to the Church near my house had special significance, for it had grand paintings and murals on its walls. While other were engrossed in the sermons and discourses, I was held captive by the paintings and murals that adorned it. This was my introduction to the world of art, though I had not understood it then. Later I got introduced to the legendary artist, such as Pablo Picasso, Vincent Van Gogh and Georges Braque through the pages of the ‘ Soviet Union’ magazine.
From my birthplace Solapur, I came to Mumbai at the age of 16 and studied in Sir J.J. School of Art. But my learning process extended beyond classrooms. The bizarre diversities of this city immediately made me curious. My insatiable curiosity would make me comb the lanes of ‘Chorbazar’ and ‘Kalbadevi’ (two buzzing streets in Mumbai), peering into quaint looking shops, and munching at roadside eateries. These wanderings helped me understand the city’s pulse.
The sheer vitality of the metropolis mesmerized me. Over here I discovered Raza and Langhammer, who further inspired me. The show of great American landscape painter Thomas Moran at NCPA Gallery was another eye opener for me.
Inspiration came from every corner, particularly from the monuments and structures built by the British. In short time, Mumbai became more than just a city to me. I was awestruck by the grandeur of Mumbai’s heritage structures – the VT station, Asiatic Society, Crowford Market, etc; gradually, from being a ringside viewer I begun to feel a part and parcel of this spirited city.
Out of this emerged my first solo exhibition “Mumbai De’ja’ vu”, a rendition of Mumbai and its landscapes. There followed two stunning portraits of ‘ Ahilyabai Holkar’ and ‘Savitribai Phule’, which were displayed at the State Legislative Assembly, no mean achievement for a young artist.
Later, for a couple of years I withdrew into a shell, searching for something deeper, more sublime. In this search, returning to my roots in Solapur, Situated amid the once barren wastes of Southwest Maharashtra, I rediscovered the ‘Gadda Yatra’, a holy festival honoring Shri Siddharameshvara – the patron saint of the town.
Myths, legends and facts intertwine to chronicle the life of Rameshvara; an ardent worshipper of Lord Shiva, who lived in twelfth century. Through devotion to his deity, meditation and yogic practices he attained a high degree of spiritual awareness, and the honorific title “Shri Sidhha” was bestowed on him by his followers.
The outcome was my second solo exhibition ‘Light n’ light’, wherein I set about to explore the visual and metaphorical possibilities of this unique ritualistic celebration.
The two day Yatra held every year to pay homage to Shri Sidhharameshvara has a history of over six centuries in which pilgrims from neighboring states of Andhra and Karnataka mingle with those from Maharashtra. United in their faith, the educated and the illiterate, the rich and poor, the old and the young participate in the various events with reverence and piety in a quest of the sublime.
The present exhibition, “In Search of Light” is a deeper exploration of this quest. While the traces of influences from murals to miniature paintings to Revivalism can be discerned in the paintings, the use of gold reflects the indestructible nature of faith that these paintings show. The portrait paintings depict the sense of devotion, piety as also achievement, while the larger paintings show human figures which seem to be on a journey of seeking enlightenment and though in a group each figure appears to be seeking this in its own way, reflecting the universal truth that attainment is always an individual achievement and not a group endeavor.
Douglas John