With the increasing talk about climate change and saving wildlife, the news of the number of tiger deaths having decreased from 122 (101 mortalities and 21 seizures) in 2016 to 95 in 2019, comes as a relief. According to data from the Ministry of Forest Environment and Climate Change (MoEFCC), out of the 95, there were 84 cases of tiger deaths in the country and 11 cases of seizures. However, the fight for survival continues.
Drawing attention to the dwindling numbers of the Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris, native to the Indian subcontinent) is Delhi-based artist Amit Kumar with his exhibition, Save Our Tigers. Curated by Priyanka Banerjee, the exhibition is ongoing at Vivanta by Taj, Dwarka. Talking about Kumar’s work, Banerjee says, “Poaching, fragmentation of habitat due to growing population and climate change have pushed the royal animal on the verge of extinction. Amit, through his paintings, has symbolically highlighted their pain and their struggle for survival.
He has extensively used three colours, blue symbolising the power of the animal, red to depict the human aggression and the danger the animal lives in, and black to make the paintings emphatic.” Self-taught artist, Kumar, who is a full-time IT professional, creates artworks with underlying messages, and a variety of emotions. For instance, one painting shows two cubs pressing close to their mother, a picture of strong family values and togetherness. Another shows a tiger roaring, as Banerjee calls, the “cry of the wild”, a cry to save tigers from unnatural deaths.
Kumar has also added elements of playfulness, anger and pain. A lot has been written and said about the effects of climate change, but art plays a powerful medium to further the cause, believes Banerjee. “Amit has been really passionate about the Bengal tigers. In the last 10 years of being associated with him, he has not diverted from the topic. He wants to awaken the conscience of mankind and spread the message that the beast has every right to live freely in their natural habitats as humans.”
Till: January 7 At: Vivanta by Taj, Dwarka