To catch an Unicorn

Just inside UB City two large paintings are hung up, regally guarded by brass stanchion rope barriers. The burst of loud colours draw the curious closer even as the abstractions scream for attention. These works are part of Hyderabad-based author cum artist Tarab Khan’s solo show titled Dancing with the Clouds which have works of oil, acrylic and poster colours on canvas. She calls her colour palette psychedelic hoping that the bursts of vibrancy may lure the viewer to come closer and in the process feel like they are “slipping into the painting”.

While the jury is out on that, it is interesting to note that her works are the results of her book, also of the same title, whose protagonist is a young girl living in the fabled island of Nankhatoi or the land of forgotten times. Aimed at children in particular, although Khan vouches for the universality of the theme, the story is about a young girl who falls into a magical kaleidoscope. Her encounters with mystical beings have transformed into paintings in which unicorns and Pegasus figure prominently. “These mythical creatures and are a symbol of hope, dreams and high ideals. The unicorn of dreams represents mystery and good luck, suggesting that good times are on their way to you,” Khan noted. Such is the intention which repeatedly stresses on an illusory world “carved in the meadows of silence, the paintings are the projections of poetry, parables and whimsical stories”. Khan is self taught who became a full time professional artist in 2013. She has tried to combine her passion for writing with this genre, resulting in a self collaborative offering of paintings and storytelling. It is the stories that she imagines which set her onto this creative path. As she writes, she imagines the characters on her canvas. “My works, are therefore, surrealistic representation of my imaginary world wherein I go on voyages.”

The show has large works of which there are a few diptychs and triptychs which are about 8 feet in length when aligned together. Psychedelic Dream and Afabled Land are some of her larger and grander works which grab attention for the sheer visual sensations they create. There are suggestive motifs of hidden houses, magnificent trees and so on which are laid on thick, thanks to the layers she has created. Talking to the artist about her vision, she replied, “Being an artist, for me the boundaries are not sketched and there is no definition to it. I trace through different layers that could be real or imaginary; and therefore I do not conform to any guided philosophy. Some of my paintings and illustrations in the book have traces of different forms and depictions.”

The reason for her overactive imagination could probably be her childhood days growing up in the seaside town of Berhampur in Orissa. She recalls going up to the terrace of her home and gazing at the sea for considerable lengths of time. “I used to imagine fantastical stories,” she said. This talent for making stories is now finely honed and expressed through her writings and art. But Khan says that the aspect of storytelling is what she is trying to instil in schoolchildren through the workshops she conducts for them. While that work excites her it is her future book on poems, Skies and Flesh, which has kept her on the road of creativity.

“Take a look at my website,” she urged, adding that the entire gamut of her creativity is there to see. It is here that a viewer gets to see her illustrations for the upcoming book which are actually interesting - almost minimalistic in rendering (at least when compared to her paintings) and quite eloquent. These black and red illustrations are nuanced and effective may be more than the psychedelic colours which distract and force the gaze to the surface. However, the 25 paintings on display may serve as the proverbial ‘rabbit hole’ through which the viewers could explore a fantastical world provided they are willing to believe in the powers of unicorns and Pegasus.

What: Dancing with the Clouds
Where: Sublime Galeria
When: till July 4th, 11am - 8pm