Maithri, the artists residency with Indian and Chinese women painters held in Jaipur last November, underscores the power of art to transcend borders. The collection of works produced at the residency has been touring the country under the aegis of Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), which also facilitated the programme. Shanghai Women’s Federation (SWF) and Shanghai People’s Association For Friendship with Foreign Countries (SPAFFC) also joined in organising the residency. As part of the on-going country-wide exhibitions, the works will be on display at the KCS Panicker art gallery in Museum compound, Thiruvananthapuram, till June 15.
The residency had 10 artists from India and 9 artists from China. The wide cross-section of participants ensured that there was an intermingling of diverse socio-cultural and aesthetic outlooks. The Indian team comprised artists Gogi Saroj Pal, Bulbul Sharma, Kanchan Chander, Rekha Rao, Asma Menon, Nupur Kundu, Meenakshi Kasliwal, Sheetal Gattani, Madhuri Bhaduri and Kiran Murdiya. The Chinese artists were - Chen Yinyin, Tang Baolin, Wang Yuhong, Wang Xin, Lu Yuwei, Zhao Aihua and Yang Yan. He Daqiao and Lu Yuanshan, invited guest artists - were also part of the programme.
The interaction has obviously brought forth the common cultural links shared by the neigbouring countries. By depicting themes culled out of familiar artistic milieu, the artists have created microcosms of two worlds - distinct and yet of a kindred spirit.
Abstracts have been favoured by many of artists to portray the amalgamation of cultures. Zhao Aihua’s ‘Bodhi Sattva’, Wang Xin’s ‘Birth’, Nupur Kundu, Sheetal Gattani and Rekha Rao’s untitled works and the like are examples.
Tao Baoling, who teaches Chinese traditional painting at Shanghai University, chose to replicate the native style in her work titled ‘Beautiful Memories’. The water colour painting is done on mount board and features Chinese characters in line with the old tradition.
The mixed media painting on canvas by Wang Yuhong - ‘Dialogues’ - harks back to the traditional style to highlight the inevitability of differences and the necessity of discourses on them.
The evocation of indigenous styles and incorporation themes with universal appeal seem to be the hallmark of the shared creative process. The curators of the residency, Kumar Vikas Saxena and Sonika Agarwal write in the souvenir - “Through Maitri a dialogue has been initiated that originates in art and culminates in better understanding, empathy and love for each other.”
The residency was held at the Diggi Palace Hotel in Jaipur, which is also the default venue of the Jaipur Literature Festival since 2006.
Yang Yan, a participant, has reproduced a section of the venue in her water colour painting, ‘Diggi Palace’.
The exhibition will be open from 10 am-5 pm.