Tying in to the long tradition of portraiture and self-portraiture in world art, curator
Neeta Omprakash focuses on the obsession with the ‘selfie’ in contemporary
culture in her recent show, Introspection, held at the Sanskruti Bhavan in Patto in collaboration with the
Directorate of Art and Culture. She presents artworks from artists across three
different states – Odisha, Kerala and Goa in a bid to pursue the overarching
theme of selfie mania. What is lost, what is gained through the obsession with
the selfie in current times are some of the questions explored in this process
of artistic introspection.
Painted either as a commission or because of the love for the
self-image, portraiture has enjoyed a rich legacy through the ages, says Neeta.
“Love for one’s image is something inherent to human beings and has been a
source of inspiration for artistic expression in various civilisations. Due to
diverse artistic ideals, visual languages, media and materials available to the
artists, there has been no unanimous style of portraits. The tradition of
commissioning portraits was a luxury of the wealthy class in every society. The
invention of photography and its access to the masses has adversely affected
the rarity of the art of portraiture and to add to it now a new trend of the
‘selfie’ has emerged. The emergence of this new trend intrigues me – is it the
love and appreciation for the self-image or the indulgence with the gadget? Do
we lose something precious in this obsessive indulgence of clicking selfies? Is
it not the Greek myth of Narcissus being manifested with this selfie mania? Has
this process of boosting one’s self admiration brought a change in the
collective psyche of the new generation in our society? The positive side of
this selfie mania is that we are creating a massive data base of images of millions
of human heads which will remain in the form of ‘waves’ for coming centuries in
this cosmos.”
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In a move away from relatively ‘new media’ like installation,
conceptual and performance art the curator focuses on works on paper in this
show. She says, “Drawing, painting and printmaking are taking a back seat. Most
of the galleries who promote new media art give the impression that the art of
drawing and painting is the ‘art of a bygone era’. This new trend deprives the
artists from the joy of creation. All said and done, ultimately, in the long
run the duration of the life of every trend decides its significance in the
history of Art.”
The show holds its own as a display of artistic strength and
skill. There is a wonderful array of diverse images on paper presenting a
plurality of idea and expression.
Goa stands proud represented by such stalwarts like Hanuman
Kambli whose deceptively simple works draw viewers in compelling them to reach
deeper. Prashant Nageshkar’s mixed media on paper, Reminiscence III, is a visual delight, layered with artistic
references and meaning. Swapnesh Vaigankar’s Heritage Walk is a masterful painstakingly detailed ink
on paper. Fernanda De Melo creates the striking Selfie Giraffe while it is great to see Loretti Pinto’s
superbly executed drawings.
Renowned artist, Co-Curator and Director of the UTSHA Foundation
in Bhubaneshwar, Jagannath Panda leads an artist contingent from Odisha and the
mastery on display is evident at first glance. As it is with the artworks from
Kerala. The tensions peculiar to our contemporary times, the socio-cultural
landscape and its resulting problems and moments of joy – there is all this and
plenty more to look at and absorb.
Co
Curator TV Chandran from Kerala takes a surreal look at a dystopian urban
landscape in And There is a Sting in the Tail while Ramakant
Samantary from Odisha maps our times in the fantastic gouache, ink and collage
on paper series, Discovering India. Naryankutti K from Kerala examines the isolation and loneliness
rampant in these times when humanity is more ‘connected’ than ever before and
yet more alone. External perception, internal dialogues, imaginary journeys and
more – there is so much to discover, enjoy and think about in Introspection. It is truly wonderful
to see a vibrant art community created from this intergenerational interstate
group of artists.
