Simply Sublime

"The world is a playground where children pretend to have shops," wrote Rumi. To artist Srikala Gangi Reddy, the frenzied development of the human race seems to be missing one thing — a purpose. "We have evolved greatly, invented things, made great technological leaps but what is mankind after?"

In a series of eight abstract works around the idea of 'ecosystems in change', the story, she says, began 4.6 billion years ago, with the sun. Three paintings describe "the origins", with the sun, water and the evolution of life. That's when man arrives. He exploits the resources on earth and cracks begin to show, as we are unable to repay what we have taken. "The ice is melting, we're losing our green cover and we appear to be reaching a point where things are falling apart. But how helpless are we, really?"

Amoghavarsha

Reddy is one of 16 artists participating in the Art Exhibition, which opened at UB City on Wednesday as part of RoundGlass Samsara Festival 2017, an environment and sustainability festival conceptualised by Grammy award winnining composer Ricky Kej. At UB City, artificial walls with LED lighting create what curator Abhishek Naidu describes as a "museum class experience," across all floors of the venue, with 150 art works on display.

Beneath the escalator by the main entrance stands a blackened mound, which, on closer inspection, is made from lumps of coal. This is Harisha Chennangod's Burned Hill, a dark nod to mankind's impact on the earth. A large box rests atop this mound, etched with paintings. "He envisioned what was once a green hill and what it became after human beings took over," explained Naidu. Further in, on the right, are Pavithra Chowdappa's 'carbon paintings'. The works have been created with 'Air Ink', explains Naidu, made by a process of capturing exhaust fumes in the air and using their effluents to make black ink. The larger works, said Naidu, took about 118 minutes of exhaust fumes to create.

Sairam Sagiraju- Path of the Ganga

It's not all gloom, doom and black smoke however. Upstairs, at Sublime Galleria, three photographers, Umeed Mistry, Tasneem Khan and Bhushan Bagadia deliberately depart from the 'doomsday dialogue', the most common narrative around climate change. "Yes, we have the dropping fish populations and reefs in distress. What, then is cause for hope?" asks Mistry, who has over a decade of experience with underwater photography. "This is the dominating narrative in mainstream education as well," he adds - all three photographers work on awareness as well, visiting schools and universities to talk about their work. "That's a disheartening approach, if it's given to you in isolation."

The photographs, taken from beaches in India, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Mauritius, deal largely with marine life in the Indian ocean. "The idea was simply to showcase aspects of the marine world that we found engaging," Mistry remarked. Bagadia has a series on sharks, Mistry one on turtles, for instance. "There are wide angle shots of whales and dolphins. We've explored fresh water life and swamps, too. If one were to engage in the moment, there's a lot to be inspired by, a lot of beauty to hold on to."