Hyderabad: The graduating class of Sarojini Naidu School of Arts showcased the best from their body of work from their years in the University. The Flight — Up Up and Away was a coming together of students practising different forms of art and therefore it was a multimedia delight with students presenting works in varied media to video installations. Most importantly, the subjects of expressions were personal thoughts and social observations.
The show started even before you entered the auditorium with Diptej’s video installations — Sinking Titanic and Lost in Time. The student, who hails from Goa, explains, “The Sinking Titanic depicts the kind of situation where we are stuck in between, like pendulums. In Goa, because of a sudden change in politics, cargo ships were affected. I connected that with the Titanic.” Diptej’s other installation Lost in Time projects visuals on an easy chair, while features are in motion in the backdrop, to signify “the frustration of losing things in cultures that we once valued”
Inside, the floor was used by rather riveting installations, including a strong expression using the media of wooden crates and plaster of Paris brains. Among the other brilliant works were Barun Mandal’s tea wash and benzene print, Dhiraj Pednekar’s video installation on graffitti that grew out of his love for observing architecture, Faiza Hasan Uzzal’s expressions questioning concepts created by society that women have to abide by and Radhika Ramamurthy’s work with termite wings.
Monika Bijlani worked on a public art project. Build Unbuild is an inquiry into how people would react to everyday things. “I invite the visitor to build something out of these cement blocks. These objects that we all come across everyday have begun to have a different effect on me as an artist and I want to see how others respond to it,” she says, adding that she will also be documenting the project to study how people react to or choose not to react to the ordinary and mundane.
