When you walk into Nature Morte gallery, Vasant Vihar, to view Zimbiri’s solo exhibition, you will notice that the artist aptly captures the essence of William Blake’s poem The Tyger. Her works also help you understand the magnificence of the fierce animal that Blake was talking about when he concluded his poem with the lines ‘What immortal hand or eye, /Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?’
“In recent years, I found myself coming to admire the qualities of a cat. What I first believed to be selfish and conceited, I now see as independence and self-love. To me, the tiger is the epitome of that,” shares the 30-year-old artist. The exhibition is a collection of 12 paintings made using the natural colours of Saa-tshen (pigmented earth) on Rhay-shing (hand-woven canvas). Titled ‘Imaginary Lines’, it features paintings of tigers confined within spaces. Unveiled on March 2 and on view till March 18, it is a “reflection of human behaviour and how we impose boundaries on ourselves”.
Zimbiri’s works are a comment on how humans limit their thoughts and ambitions by creating imaginary boundaries. “We create lines, which we believe we must not cross based solely on what society believes. While it makes for a neat and orderly painting, it is also frustrating and rigid,” she mentions.
Blending tradition and society
A native of Bhutan, Zimbiri’s artworks are rooted in Bhutanese heritage in her use of Saa-tshen and Rhay-shing—traditional materials used in Bhutanese art.
Of the 12 paintings on display in this exhibition is ‘Box 2’, which is a completion of Zimbiri’s “boxed” tigers. “It is my way of stripping down the essence of the tiger visually. The shedding stripes are my final question in this journey,” she says. Though she begins her series with the idea that humans often limit their identities in boxes, the shedding stripes in Box 2 is her way of asking the viewer the culminating question—“Who are we without all the habits that make up our existence?”
Observing the world around
On one hand, the artist mentions how the tiger is a symbol of luck and power in her culture. On the other, the animal’s motif is a portrayal of a strong sense of independence and self-love. As the viewer looks at her paintings that capture these ferocious beasts trying to burst free from confinement, one can visualise the artist’s portrayal of how many of us are trying to break free from the mental boundaries that are subjected by society. “It is an observation of society that has been filtered through my experiences and trickled down through my biases,” Zimbiri concludes.
CHECK IT OUT
WHAT: ‘Imaginary Lines’, a solo exhibition by Zimbiri
WHEN: Till March 18, Monday to Saturday, 10:00am to 6:00pm
WHERE: Nature Morte gallery, 7 Poorvi Marg, Vasant Vihar