Vervemagazine.in October 2014

10 works addressing the relationship between nature and imagination. N. Pasharamulu’s debut solo opens today in Mumbai

The Karimnagar-born and Hyderabad-based N. Parsharamulu finds his debut solo in Mumbai where human forms (with heads shrouded in darkness) appear as figures in motion that are stunted or interrupted. He’s exploring the world of reality through imagination, through the visible and invisible; and as is with all art, through the dynamics of human perception.

It is nearly like an X-ray into the world of the unknown, made more so by his chosen monochrome palette, as if creating his own Rorschach ink blot test into the psyche.

5 Questions with the Artist, N. Parsharamulu: 

1. Artistic motivations “Life as I see it unfolding within and around me.”

2. Inspiration “Eastern philosophy and art itself.”

3. Choose to have at home “Francis Bacon and Edward Munch.”

4. Artistic concerns “I address the relationship between nature and imagination in my works.”

5. If you weren’t an artist, you would be… “I cannot imagine being anything other than an artist.”

Itself previews on October 9 evening and continues until November 8, 2014 at Gallery Maskara (6/7, 3rd Pasta Lane, Colaba, Mumbai; 11am-7pm Tuesday through Saturday only).

Vervemagazine.in October 2014

Antonio di Canito spends a month in India and captures women immersed in water through his frames

Italian photographer, Antonio di Canito, recipient of the Arte Laguna Prize: Technymon ARTresidency, created these images during his month-long residency in India, where he explored Varanasi, Delhi and Puducherry (Pondicherry). Taking off from the reverence that Indians have towards their holy waters, he has shot portraits of ordinary women immersed in the water, combining the motifs ofmata and water. Says the artist: ‘Sometimes I like to include symbols in my work as seen in Renaissance paintings. The juxtaposition of woman and water, for me, represents birth, strength, power and love.’

Ganga previews this evening and is on until October 14, 2014 at Sakshi Art Gallery (Synergy Art Foundation Ltd., 6/19, Grants Building, 2nd Floor, Arthur Bunder Road, Colaba, Mumbai).

Published: Vervemagazine.in, September 2014

Pocket Maps of the Mind (Residues of Memory), curated by Veerangana Solanki for TARQ, looks at the multi-faceted nature of memory. The show focusses on different, complex ways in which the mind selects, stores and internalises memories to create ‘perilous utopias’ which ‘can never be destroyed, because in our minds maps they will always exist as residues of memory.’

The show previews this evening and continues until November 7, 2014 at TARQ (F35/36, Dhanraj Mahal, Apollo Bunder, Colaba, Mumbai).

Here’s the low-down on the exhibiting artists:

Prayas Abhinav, Ahmedabad: Artist, occasional teacher and curator. He has worked in the last few years on pieces of speculative fiction, software, games, interactive installations, public interventions and curatorial projects. He is interested in politics, pedagogy and the interaction of the humanities and the digital.

Nandan Ghiya, Jaipur: He refers to the 21st century as one of emulation, competition and pressure. ‘No matter what we may achieve, somehow our pursuits never end, for the image itself seems to change or transform over time with changing trends and lifestyles. The transitory state is the state of its existence.’

Sonia Jose, Bangalore: Drawing inspiration from everyday life and experiences, Sonia’s art practice relates to the environment and personal/social history. Her work stems from a need to preserve and acknowledge lived experience – she is particularly drawn to the intimate and overlooked circumstances that surround routine life practices.

Payal Kapadia, Mumbai: Payal’s work includes documentary, experimental film, and animation. Her current works are concerned with nature and the memory of a human-nature relationship. They attempt to trace back a history of this relationship in the Indian context by examining texts such as the Upanishads, as well as myths and folktales.

Prajakta Potnis, Mumbai: Prajakta’s works are an inquiry into the seepage of time and aura around mundane objects from daily life. They dwell between the intimate world of an individual and the outside, through mediums of photography, painting and site-specific installations.

Sahej Rahal, Mumbai: Sahej’s artworks revel in masculine fantasy, whilst also mocking its affectations. The solitary characters he essays seem to have emerged from Joseph Campbell’s Hero with a Thousand Faces refracted through George Lucas’s Star Wars series. The nature of these characters, like that of the peculiar beasts he fashions, is often ambiguous.

Sandunes is the full-time electronic music project of Sanaya Ardeshir, Mumbai-based producer, composer & synth player. From early influences in jazz and blues, to a defining stint with London underground sounds, her music blends various organic and electronic elements into a hybrid zone.

Wolves is a live visual project and proto-rebellious medium for Joshua Dmello and Jash Reen. Currently teething, the project is being tested through 3D-mapped installations for alternative residencies (Smash Up, Bass Camp) and commercial mainstays like Lakme India Fashion Week.