HYDERABAD: Dystopia. Environmental crisis. And the combination of these two which demands an urgent audience. Urgent efforts. Urgent realisations. While it all keeps getting constantly filtered in the psyche, seeing the same through some representation does make an impact piercing through thoughts which is necessary for preparing a collective effort in the larger context. The artworks of Sayam Bharath Yadav address this through the rural rustic settings of his village where he grew up. But the amalgam of monotonous modern life divorced from Nature meets with a longing to connect to the roots and this is what runs as the narrative of the show ‘Where are we going with the world?’ ongoing at State Gallery of Art, Madhapur.
Sayam has chosen buffaloes to depict the detachment of man from natural surroundings. Not only this he has also depicted the effect of plasticity of modern life in the animal kingdom. In one of his artworks titled ‘Modern Mutton Dukaan’ one sees the head of a buffalo with refuse inside it as if it were waiting to showcase the bilge onto a sumptuous dining table destroying the entire idea of luxury and eating.
Adds the artist who has an extended family of milkmen, “As a child I saw this idyllic environment around me which offered tranquillity replete with natural beauty. I still remember the tintinnabulation of milk cans. The growling of cows and buffaloes.” No wonder then that he has chosen the horned animals as the medium.
The use of dark tints in the artworks delivers a message of the graver issues ahead pertaining to the environment. The birds and animals are shown on a dirty pile of urban waste. But the strokes are fine and the ugliness immediately addresses those who behold the artwork. And that’s where the purpose of the artist becomes successful. The exhibition is on till February 17.