Shattering silence over the present ‘state of affairs’ with art
At times, honesty comes laced with apprehension. The uncertainty surrounding how it will be received, lingers till there is closure. But for artist Riyas Komu, the medium of art is an unabashed display of a ruthless expression steeped in a rectitude that doesn’t care for anything but transparency. In Holy Shiver, a compilations of artworks, he speaks of a state that is in contradiction with its fundamental principles. It’s a situation that could lead to an impairment to the vision of the great India we envisage it to be.
He goes back to India’s founding principles, included in the constitution. “However BR Ambedkar in his constituent assembly speech on November 25, 1949 did warn us that: ‘I feel, however good a Constitution may be, it is sure to turn out bad because those who are called to work it, happen to be a bad lot,’” quotes Komu. He believes it’s the responsibility of the State, irrespective of who is in power, to protect these freedoms.
“I also believe the present situation is characterised by, and is a result of a pervasive disillusionment with the way the system works. It’s futile to debate whether it is the institutions and freedoms provided by the Constitution that have failed or if it’s a failure of the men who run them. The works in Holy Shiver points to such deliberations,” he says.
Fear is the title of an artpiece that celebrates the Indian constitution by highlighting the contributions of artists. It points to the threat it is facing. It’s noteworthy that the original Constitution of India, adopted on 26 January 1950, was handcrafted by the artists of Shantiniketan under the guidance of Acharya Nandalal Bose, with the calligraphy texts done by Prem Behari Narain Raizada in Delhi.
Dhamma Swaraj is a an overlapping triptych portraits of Gandhi and Ambedkar that explores the interaction between two apparently disparate ideologies in the scope of a single frame. “Through this the Gandhi-Ambedkar debate becomes a larger political narrative and references the ideological paradoxes in the contemporary moment.
Holy Shiver is a series of limited-edition woodcut prints that explores some of the acts of physical violence in social spaces throughout the history of independent India. “The series explores the misuse of power by people to self organise, to take law into their own hands, to disregard constitutionally granted freedoms, and to use caste based oppression to bolster State-sanctioned authority,” says Komu.
His work are highly communicative of the social, political and cultural environment we are a part of. It highlights our interconnectedness as well as disconnectedness. But not once does it fail to recognise fact from fiction. “I have always believed that art should be true to its times and sometimes being true also means dealing with uncomfortable matters. Through my work, I hope to strip away the layer of blissful ignorance that we all sometimes succumb to,” he says.
On view till March 3, from 11 am to 7 pm, Vadehra Art Gallery, D-53 Defence Colony, New Delhi