HYDERABAD: The ongoing show at Icon art gallery titled, Dream, not Imagined, brings forth a series of works by artist Ravi Kumar Porika. The artist makes use of coloured, printed and many other types of paper/cloth to form a wide array of collage works. The bright, effervescent and lively colours are arranged in a manner that enthralls. The iridescent motifs and patterns amalgamated with bold plain patches exemplify the artists innate and deeply set, almost instinctual understanding of line, colour, form, alignment and composition.
The artist refrains himself from following realistic contours and details of the animals depicted. He rejoices in freely attempting to create a bold resemblance and also in simplifying the characteristics of the animals in a distinctly personalised style and connotation. The dogs, cats, cows, elephants and other animals look bright and happy, and sometimes they seem to be dancing with their heads tilted and their feet in the air, as if responding to a musical beat that they are able to hear.
The artist has distorted the animals in a manner that grants his works a personal identity and strength. The facial features, bodies and stances altogether effulge with a distinct simplicity, rhythm and aesthetic appeal that reaches out to the viewers instantly.
There is an undercurrent of innocence in the works that cannot be missed. In a way the works reflect the free, unrestricted and imaginative aspects of a child. The playfulness and the feel of momentum in all the works grant them an unsurpassable energy and spark.
These animals are like metaphors that have been arranged and created to question and emphasise their ever so thinning number. The artist ironically creates a series of animals out of paper which is glossy, printed and from popular magazines that contain and represent the culture and trends which are very contemporary in nature and thus reflect the true identity of the preset times. The artist comes up with a deep concern about the environment, specially the loss and decrease in number of many animals. If these animals keep vanishing from our surroundings, will our posterity have the privilege of seeing them as they were naturally created or will they have to be satisfied only with the plastic recreations of animals preserved in the museums?
The present show will go on at Icon art gallery till January 30.