Durga Kainthola curated the show with 14 artists from Delhi NCR.
A maiden showing of the works of fourteen practicing artists of the Delhi NCR region, was aptly themed around the evergreen philosophy of Saint Kabir. While the universality of Kabir may be a familiar subject per se, transforming the same into Art formulations generates tough challenges, considering how all-embracing is the philosophy of the saint poet. But in the hands of its astute curator, Durga Kainthola, this showing at the capital’s Arpana Art Gallery, offered a plethora of insights into the universal philosophy of this saint-philosopher, via a conduit of personalized interpretation, comprising calligraphy, music interludes, needle stitchery art, installations, sculptures, new media constructs and much more. Thus the artists on view, had linked their output to the familiar Kabir trajectory, through a pleasant mix of subjectivity, as every participating artist had interpreted the underlying message of Kabir’s thoughts in a language of personalized art.
Perhaps the exhibition’s brilliant take-off can be attributed to the a guest display artwork on view, by noted artist of the showing, Arpana Kaur, whose dramatic portraiture, in abstract format, of the saint-poet, not only provided a dramatic entryway but synchronised the theme superbly.
Then at the opposite end, the linkage of the saint with his weaver background, was eye-catchingly ‘spun’ on the pristine wall, right down to the fingers carding the strands, and tracing a direct link with the saint’s everyday life.
Other instillations too, evoked the earthy relevance of the saintly overture, in a work, using found objects of construction sites, brunt wood discards, conch shells, to create an ash embedded space,, symbolizing the final human journey and its commonplace takeaways, as also a stark reminder of the legend surrounding the saint’s last journey. Elsewhere, the conceptualization of the potter at his task and its links with the reciprocity between the potter and Mother Earth, emphasized the core principle of Kabir as well.
The trend of embracing Kabir’s persona in a more personal light, was also the subject of a sizeable number of works. In the installation titled ‘Where Kabir made Home’, it is the use of the ‘panchatatva’ colours embedded into an arrangement of squares, symbolizing the five elements of earth, fire, sky, air and water, into a core cohesion, aptly integrated Art into a stylized tapestry. Elsewhere, the theme found voice in the depiction, ‘Aavaran’. wherein, the journey of the self was demonstrated on a silken sheen of mixed media composition, featuring poetry, and calligraphy in a fused togetherness.
In still richer demonstrations of the Kabir theme were seen works rendered into a needle and thread tapestry, with Kabir’s verses in Devanagri alongside. Significantly, the artist had left the eyes unmarked on the face, thereby saying a thousand Kabir thoughts in one slight gesture. In other forms, of veteran worth, there had appeared a polished composition of merged distinction, where its maker aptly conveyed the universality of the saint poet. Other works such as the oil on canvas titled ‘Path to Peace’ was a charming arrangement of colour coordinates centred to a glowing focus,.
To round off the many faceted examination of the theme, were a set of installations correlating the universal outflow whenever the name of Kabir comes in focus. The cotlike frame of woven rope and clusters of miniature pots grouped in places, was a depiction of human vulnerability, made explicit via the baked vessel and its exposure to the elements. Elsewhere, another four-part installation walked viewers on the transformative journey of darkness and ignorance to realization, using screens threaded with tattered cloth, followed by knotted ropes till the final repose within, which is the essence of Kabir’s guidance to humanity. A third installation of gripping value was the metal-based installation, with its busy geometry of urban settlement etched on metal sheet and crowned with a head form, symbolizing the moment of Truth that was brought in our midst by the saint-poet Kabir.
All in all this maiden revelation of Kabir’s philosophy on an art platform was the result of a six-month incubation, conceptualized by this artist coterie. The praiseworthy attempt has made every viewer experience the journey of Kabir, on a single platform using a multitude of processes, integrated in Art.
