If horses could speak, they would have to be from Husain’s stable. The sharp, muscular stallions MF Husain brought to life on his canvases with bold, edgy strokes captured the nuances of human condition better than humans themselves. Think Karbala. The 1990 acrylic-on-canvas retold the story of one of the epic battles in Islamic history solely through the menacing wrath of the horses in black, and the defeat in the eyes of two slain white horses; there isn’t a single human figure in the frame.
In the centre stands a white stallion looking straight at the viewer. “The horse of Imam Hussain is humanised, the only witness to his martyrdom. The narrative is expressed through signs, symbols and the composing of pictorial contrary forces,” says Roobina Karode, curator of The Rooted Nomad: MF Husain, an exhibition underway at the Magazinni del Sale in Venice.
Running parallel to the 60th Venice Biennale, and presented by Delhi’s Kiran Nadar Museum of Art (KNMA), the exhibition is happening alongside an immersive experience. Karbala is the moment of transition between the two mediums that celebrate him at his grandest and humblest.
While the immersive focuses on larger works such as Yatra (1955), Mother Teresa (1989) and Blue Ganges (1966), the exhibition takes a more personal look at Husain’s journey through his smaller pieces. “I wanted to bring an intimate quality to the exhibition through constellations of his drawings, on-site sketches, wooden toys, and photographs of him taken by Parthiv Shah while he walked the streets of Nizamuddin basti, sipping tea at a roadside dhaba, reading newspapers and drawing sketches. Husain was a people’s painter who was drawn to learning by being out on the streets. There are also the early designs he created at Fantasy, a furniture shop in Mumbai,” she says, adding,
“I wanted to bring all this in public consciousness. These modest works take us to Karbala that encapsulates the narrative of migration and mourning. Then, the viewer transits into the largeness of the immersive, which unfolds the panorama of Husain’s life through an expansive vocabulary. Here, you will see some works resonating from the exhibition, but it mostly comprises of his larger works such as Beyond Theora, Mothers, and the ones from the Mahabharata and British Raj series.”
This solo show is significant in more ways than one. It is a first-of-its-kind experience featuring an Indian artist. It is also a representation of rich South Asian art heritage. But above all, it is a peek into the soul of an artist who held his country close to his heart, even after being exiled by religious fury: perhaps a forerunner to the aesthetic regulations in today’s creative sphere.
By bringing together Husain’s giant repertoire through a career spanning over seven decades, the presentation puts in perspective his idea of patriotism. Irrespective of the medium or scale, his love for India never eluded him. Take, for instance, the gouache-on-plywood toy, titled Hal, which he made in the 1950s. The small piece shows a farmer at work—he is ploughing the field with a bull pulling it along. For Husain, celebrating his country meant celebrating its people at their most earnest and simplest.
Karode reveals that the idea for the immersive had been in the making for nearly three years; KNMA has wanted it to mark the opening of its new museum in NCR, which promises to be a melting pot of different art forms. With the announcement of the Venice Biennale theme—Foreigners Everywhere—which focuses on artists who are minorities, are in exile, or are displaced, Husain was the right representative.
“The theme of the Biennale was just so befitting to Husain and his life journey,” she says, adding, “As an iconic Indian modernist, he continues to demand critical attention. But more importantly, he was and artist preoccupied with connecting his art with the land he felt rooted to.” The immersive has been designed by Visioni Srl, Rome, and draws on nearly 160 works by Husain from the KNMA collection to render a production that includes motion graphics, live action, 2D- and 3D-animation, choreography and sound design, seamlessly blending together the artist’s versatile oeuvre to narrate the riveting story of this singular figure.
Husain’s friends remember him as a man on the move: from profession to profession until he found his calling. And, when he did, he moved across the country and the world to feed his artistic curiosity. And now, with the immersive experience open over a decade after his death, his indomitable spirit continues to revel in movement.