Reimagining a better world

It is rare to find an art show in the city which consists of some exquisite paintings. Contemporary artist Murali Cheeroth is not only exhibiting but giving a live performance in this special showing. Reimagining: (Un)Reality and Space is a launchpad of YepArt Art, curated by Nalini Malaviya at the Hatworks Boulevard.

The show consists of some very eclectic artists who have tried to show the mundane in a creative manner. Of course, the show has some of Baroda’s best contemporary young artists, in Muktinath Mondal and Maripelli Praveen Goud, who have been consistently producing works of art which show promise.  The artists’ critical engagement with the curatorial premise reimagining (un)reality and space, results in interventions, which explore and question notions of time, space, reality and the subjective relativity that spreads through these dimensions.

Multiple realities emerge from stresses of mundane urban living, where observation and truth are skewed and dependent on other dynamics. Ideologies are twisted for material gains and govern the present and future. Cognitive and sensory perceptions distort from an altered state of consciousness. The time and space thus occupied is unreal and fabricated. There is an attempt to delve into conflicts and examine the inherent precariousness and fragility in natural systems, impacted by consumerism and materialistic trends.

Reimagining Spaces creates virtual maps of imaginary introspective journeys in the search of self and enquiries on the ‘now’ form intriguing visual chronicles of contemporary concerns. Maripelli Praveen Goud has always been considered a skilled print maker. Hailing from the Baroda School of Art, he extends the materiality of the print medium to create virtual contours and linear graphs mapping imaginary loci and places.

Relying on scrunching paper to initiate cathartic release, the process spontaneously creates dimensions beyond the surface of the plane. Mukinath Mondal, another product from Baroda, focuses on ecological imbalance, a disrupted equilibrium — a direct result of human interventions.  He paints a stark image — black canvases that point to a dark reality, a glimpse into a bleak future that interrogates the very existence and survival of living beings.

Murali Cheeroth, who has been a multi-faceted artist is also performing live — examining the notion of time as a relative value, with its meaning and intent evolving and transfiguring as a quotient of consciousness, application and relevance. Engaging with the interplay of text, material, texture and aesthetics, the concept of time morphs into multiple meanings and discourses, which reflect the subjectivity of viewing and reading into the artwork.

Venugopal VG’s works are a celebration of colour, exploring the dichotomy in situations emerging in urban living, and portraying complexities and dilemmas of reality. The show promises to be a good launchpad for the online portal and the performance is something you shouldn’t miss.

— The show is on at the Hatworks Boulevard till December 17. The writer is an art curator and expert.