Convergence, a collection of drawings, mixed media works & sculptures by Shanthamani Muddaiah, Shivani Aggarwal and Minal Damani, curated by Nalini S Malaviya starts July 24, 2020
The pandemic has disrupted the ‘regularity’ of our existence, where the new normal is a paradox, unrelated and at variance with memories of the past, disconnected from the present and a distant future. This interruption has necessitated a reconstruct and rethink of strategies, modes of functioning and a revaluation of what constitutes essential. The existing paranoia and other associated anxieties have brought to the fore several pertinent questions regarding factors responsible for calamities, unwarranted human interventions and indiscriminate actions that disregard ecological considerations.
The hiatus, therefore, compounded by disquiet and turmoil, has compelled a deeper introspection of the human-nature coexistence and equilibrium, and of environmental, socio-economic and psychological sustainability issues, under transient and perpetual stress.
Amidst this, artists and art projects have pivoted to realign core practices to adopt meaningful human and community centric approaches. Modalities of engagement with the audience have also undergone perceptible repositioning with near total shift to digital platforms, and a predominance of artists collectives and community based projects.
This curatorial endeavor embraces a collaborative model, an art and media collective, centered on the three artists’ core practices to relocate social and ecological realities on a democratic forum. The artworks and the online digital site, act as a resource, to articulate and respond to shifts in contemporary socio-cultural conditions. Art Scene India, a 14 year old blog, a digital publishing site for art information, in response to collective concerns and in view of the pandemic situation, now accommodates a conceptual and aesthetic shift to incorporate curatorial expression as part of its vision.
The democratic approach builds upon the artists’ practice that is deeply informed by environment and gender sensitivities, and social, political and geographical concerns – arenas that assume great criticality in the contemporary context. Shanthamani Muddaiah, Shivani Aggarwal and Minal Damani locate and realign their preoccupations, and present their recent works, much of which has been produced during the pandemic and is thus layered with current apprehensions, as a subtext to the primary narrative.
Shanthamani views the world around her through a prismatic lens, questioning issues that interplay between the individual and the society, the self and the planet. Her strong concerns about urbanization and its impact on ecology are reflected in her drawings and sculptural installations. Loss of agricultural land, and livelihoods, migration, commodification, and exploitation of human and natural resources, and capitalism as the dominant culture are some of the issues that she analyses and expresses through her large scale depictions. For this exhibition, in view of the online site for display, small format pre-existing sculptures are presented, which paraphrase fresh import in light of current contexts.
Shivani’s introspective stance negotiates the complex interrelationships between the external world and the self. She navigates the intricacies of linkages between the material and intangible elements, expressing the impact and the fragility of these associations. Her works map constructs around ethos, culture, gender and identity, deploying material as a gestural entity. Shivani’s visuals are embedded with symbolism, representing notions of self, while exploring emotional flux and confinements of space in response to the situational crises. Stitching and crochet allude to gender as a subtext, and aesthetics acts as a tool to construct the narrative. The sculptural nature of the works are markedly evident through use of multiple media primarily photography, painting and stitching/crochet.
Minal’s works emanate from a deep autobiographical space, reflecting upon the self, in conjunction with the external world, charting responses, which have an intense personal connect. Through a rigorous mapping device to trace diagrams and graphs of events in real-time and space, the intricate patterns that are generated, appear as macroscopic capsules of land, memories and episodes. Her current series acts as a witness to these times, documenting the volatility of the financial markets as an indication of the prevailing emotional turmoil. The fluctuations allude to hopes and dreams, fears and apprehensions, where the range of emotions reflect life during the pandemic experience.
The exhibition functions as a convergence of material, site and situation to define the contemporaneous of witnessing, experiencing and living through the ongoing pandemic.
Shanthamani Muddaiah
Title: Hands
Year: 2019
Medium: Fiberglass on wooden pedestal Edition: Edition of 3
Note: Artist’s proof of is on display in Bangalore
Note: The artist has done “Hands” in different sizes and materials over several years.
Size:
Each Hand: 20 x 10.5 x 7.5 inches
Pedestal: 22 x 19 x 1 inches
Artist: Shanthamani Muddaiah |
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Title: Flying Landscape
Year: 2016
Medium: Aluminium tubes with steel and Paint
Edition: Artist’s Proof
Note: Larger edition is on display in Paris
Size: 10.5 x 16.5 x 21 inches
Artist: Shanthamani Muddaiah
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Title: Temptation Medium: Graphite with Charcoal on Paper
Year: 2020
Edition: Artist’s Proof
Note: One edition will be larger in size Size:
Big Apple: 2.5 x 2.5 X 2.5 inches
Small Apple: 0.75 x 1.72 x 1.5 inches
Pedestal: 8.5 x 4 x 1 inch
Artist: Shanthamani Muddaiah
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An
avid traveler, she has been fascinated by clouds – their patterns and how they
shift form, disperse, and re-form at times to acquire newer shapes and
outlines. Their temporal nature and their transitions, have impacted her
perception, in her observations of life and events and their fleeting characteristics.
This in turn has inspired the small format paintings, which rely on abstraction
as a tool to convey the thematic subjects as they shift forms amidst the
colors, and which reemphasize the subtleties of movement and transitions.
