Voices of the mind

CHENNAI-based artist Darshana Bajaj's art doesn't comform to the French belief of l'art pour l'art, or Art for Art's Sake. Instead, art plays a prophet, a medium for a philosophy so divine that artists for so long have often expressed only in abstract.

She, however, takes on daily forms, from animals in the wild to a flower in full bloom, to show the catharsis from emotions that cloud the human mind. The series of paintings, exhibited under the title Soul Searching, was on display at Lalit Kala Akademi.

A heady mix of both abstract and figurative oil painting, the series, as the artist concedes, was largely influenced by her search for the truth. The phases on confusion, marking any man's experience on a  quest, were revealed in their chronological stages, starting from lonely soul searching to finding peace with oneself. The image of Buddha found aprominence in this series, which experimented with different strokes.

 Introspective, and at the same time artistically appealing, Darshana's work came with a rare elegance. This was her third solo show and was on at Lalit Kala Akademi till April 12.

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