HYDERABAD: The word ‘just’ in the title of Sabita Lakshmanan’s exhibition can be interpreted in two ways, one is when it gives hope with the possibility of there being something more—something new, or old, but different. A new perspective, or a different interpretation. The other meaning which can be derived from the word is in terms of ‘justice,’ or a little play on words and we can even read it as ‘just is.’
There are multiple layers in her expression, which are evident when looked at from a distance, but a whole new world opens up when you step a little closer. Largely, her childhood memories of being close to nature and her regular habit of taking long walks at KBR Park, come together in a unique synchrony. “I often bring home something from my walks, a flower, a few leaves, some seeds. They remain on my desk and around my house and inspire my day, my life and my art,” said Lakshmanan.
These little souvenirs from her long walks also serve as remnants of her past and a mode of documenting her present—which is also visible in her collection. It connects with the spectators not ‘just’ because preserving the environment is the need of the hour, but also because the trees, the flowers, the birds and the animals are part of our collective memory, which is soon erasing with the disappearance of animal species like Cheetahs and birds like sparrows and deforestation at large.
“The point is that everything is connected. When we lose the ecological balance, the harmony between habitats, it is bound to affect us as well,” Sabita said. The most interesting pieces in this set of paintings depict a woman in different yogasanas, suggesting that we are in perfect synchronisation with the world around us and also, “that we need to stretch a little to help the planet heal,” she added.
Besides using watercolours or natural colours, Lakshmanan deploys black ink to make figures stand out and a red thread stitched through many of her paintings to highlight specific lines. While talking about her work, she laid emphasis on the material used. She pointed at the dark brownish shade in one of the paintings and said, “You see this colour? This has been derived from a pomegranate flower. I use watercolour for green, as the natural colour for green is extracted from leaves and is one of the 'fugitive colours.' This means it doesn't stay for long. .”
This is how the practice of art and living art combine; as an environmentalist, feminist and humanist, art becomes a medium to convey what Sabita practices in her everyday life. The highlight of the collection was a painting that talked about shifting to an alternate lifestyle. A woman stands in the centre, holding a piece of melting glacier above her head, life flowing out of her.
The surroundings show electric cars and natural resources for fuel production. The huge piece of ice shows an elephant inside it. “The idea is to address the elephant in the room,” she explained. “We have no choice but to shift to more eco-friendly ways of living,” she said, in a matter-of-fact way.
While there is a completely different set of paintings highlighting the issues of female foeticide and violence against women, which she made in collaboration with Art for Change Foundation and VDF, Delhi; Lakshmanan’s yoga woman bows down to apologise for human actions that have brutally harmed
nature.
Besides the still-life and figurative art pieces, a video of her performance art has also been included in the exhibition. The performance, titled, The Erasure of Memory, was shot at Khajaguda Heritage Rock Formation. The video was made as part of a group endeavour in collaboration with other artists on August 15, 2022.
“This has four stages. I start with dragging some heavy construction stones and try to arrange them into blocks, in a desperate attempt to re-create the old, bigger rocks seen in the background, trying to preserve what has been lost,” Sabita explained. “And yet, it is not ‘just’ that…there is hope for healing and ushering in of a better world,” she concluded. The exhibition will be on display till October 29 at Chitramayee State Gallery of Art.