Art is a form of expression that connects us to different aspects of life, both imagined and unimaginable. While an artist strives to put their vision on canvas or into sculpture, it is often the viewer who completes the work by creating their own interpretation and perspective. Nothing Arrives Unchanged, an ongoing group exhibition at Kalakriti Art Gallery, brings together works by contemporary artists from across the country, exploring ideas around materiality, history, perception and the environment. Curated by Satyajit Dave, the exhibition, on view until October 4, brings together both established and emerging voices, inviting viewers to engage with art beyond simply looking at it. CE speaks to the curator and a few participating artists to find out more.
Guruvinayak Singh Budhwar, artist
The work that I am showcasing is called Under the Shadow. It is a painting that talks about how our visual language is very much interconnected with everything else. The painting came about when I went to a temple dedicated to Jupiter. I heard that Jupiter is simply not enough for me as a planet and that there is an entire temple dedicated to it in Tamil Nadu. That is where the root of the painting began. Jupiter is so large, and prosperity and abundance are such large themes that the important bits of it hide in their own shadows. So, there is a play there. There is a small structure on the side with a pole from Ahmedabad, representing old Ahmedabad and how it is developing right now. I work with oil on canvas, which historically, during the French Revolution, was used for politically charged paintings. It looks pretty, but it talks about something beyond prettiness. For me, I love history and I love reading into it, and that has been my entire art practice — to read and unlearn. My interest is in rediscovering, understanding and re-understanding who you think you are.
Salik Ansari, artist
The work is called Altars of Absence, and it is interested in societal absences that have consciously existed for the past several years. Not specifically only in India, but in multiple places. The images are of illegal demolitions of individual homes and spaces. What we see is that these spaces have been removed from all these places, and all these illegal demolitions come under one junction in the work. Those empty spaces, or absences, allow us to see more. You can’t see one image at a time when you are confronted with multiple images simultaneously. That is what my work is about and how it comes together. I believe so many lines have been blurred. For me, the idea is that you can see the artwork from both sides. Every time you see the artwork, there is something happening; there is a multitude of things happening. I call it Shape Shifting Scares, as if it is a slice on the wall. It is not painted from the front but from the sides; it slices into reality. My works look at media as interactive images, the echo of algorithms, and how those videos and images affect us and how we relate to them.
Shanthamani Muddaiah, artist
The particular work that is here in this show is an experiment that brings different kinds of materials together, but those materials come with a particular history and a certain kind of evolving research around the city. It is an installation work, and you will notice the traditional identities that cities have. There is this constant presence of technology, and today electricity has become such an important element. Its consumption has reached a point where I don’t think we can survive without it. So, I tried to look at how people’s lives would change without it. These kinds of choices are what I am bringing together and talking about. I work with a lot of natural fibres and carbon-based materials because that is what I look at, particularly the entire issue of carbon. This particular work is about recycling tyre tubes. We used silk thread, textile and LED tubes, and this is called Current One. Otherwise, I usually work with charcoal. I make sculptures with charcoal and fuse it with pulp and raisins to create large-scale works.
Satyajit Dave, curator
Kalakriti is one of the oldest galleries, not only in Hyderabad or South India but also in India. All of these artists had to keep two things in mind. One, of course, was that they had to meet the curatorial requirements, which included looking at material history, engagement, experimentation and so on. At the same time, the approach had to be extremely fundamental and grounded. We were also very clear that we wanted established artists as well as younger artists. I wanted to have pieces that showcased a radically different way of looking at and engaging with art. If you see Salik Ansari’s work, generally, when you stand in front of it, you see it. But with his work, you need to bend and discover it. The same thing happens with Pooja’s work, and with Asim and Shanthamani’s works as well. Guruvinayak’s works completely change the way you look at history. These are works that change your perception altogether. You have to move around; it is a bodily way of engaging with the work. It is not just about sitting and looking, and that is the main aspect of this exhibition. The environment is the most important area of discussion today, which is why we wanted artworks that talk about the environment and chose artists who focus on it.