Art is about being lyrical,” says the ingenious artist Durga Kainthola.
Art is definite and abstract at the same time, and through it, one can narrate stories that might be difficult to express through words.The group exhibition called Being Together, which is curated by Kainthola is an artsy dialogue between five artists with a common concept, Lyrical Lines. Ongoing at the city’s White Space Studio till February 20, this display is woven around conversations between the needle, thread, canvas and artist. Works by Hemavathy Guha, Richa Navani, Ruby Jhunjhunwala, Shubika Lal, and Kainthola are exhibited here.
Threaded stories
The concept of Lyrical Lines is centred on stitching and the natural musical rhythm to this art. “These lines don’t always go straight. They move according to the expression of the artist,” says Kainthola, adding, “Sometimes the lines are broken and other times, the thread is left hanging.”“Woodcut prints are my memories translated into visual language,” shares Lal, whose works speak her truth, memories, and stories stitched in rice paper and garments. It tells the story of the 1947 Partition of India and Pakistan. “My father carried a sewing machine on his head [back then]; so I wrote that story in woodcut on the garment.” A series of stitched slippers created by Lal narrates the story of the art of walking, and pays homage to the journey of thousands of miles undertaken by people who were torn between nations and stranded at the borders.
Seeking solace
“Everything has become extremely commercial, and art has become all about a production. What shows is what sells,” explains Kainthola while talking about her studio, White Space, which does not levy a commission that art galleries charge artists to display their work. Commissions usually pinch the pockets of artists, including young Kainthola in the late ’90s. That was when she started her own space for artists, easing the burden on them by not taking any commission. With its walls and floors dipped in white, the art studio named White Space has been sheltering artists, old and new.