Chhobi o Ghor has recently celebrated their one year birthday by launching an exhibition of ink landscapes curated by the founders Saikat Mondal and Ankita Roy. “Ink and You” by Saikat Mondal is an awe-inspiring exhibition that has deployed a very innovative stylistic heterodox approach to mobilize the audience and their personal interaction with art. Through the meticulous use of multiple mediums, the artist pushes the boundaries of what is achievable with a single tool. Painted with Sulekha ink, the art delineates a significant commentary on protest and resistance in the colonial period, where Sulekha struggled to find a niche for self-representation. The artist has attempted to trace the ensuing cultural tragedy in the marginal use of this ink and the economic competition it faces in the contemporary world.
The ink captures both the silence and cacophony of our world, reflecting the delicate balance between human civilization and the natural world. The artist drew inspiration from various sources, such as personal experiences, travel, literature, and even dreams. These diverse influences created imaginative landscapes(harbors, border areas, moonlit forests, scenes of foggy dawn)that resonated with the artist’s emotive and cognitive sensibility. The mastery of his craftsmanship and precision is evident in the accurate portrayal of minute details, such as the intricate textures of trees, rocks, and architectural elements. Cross-hatching, stippling, varied line weights, and shading were deftly employed to add dimension and depth to his work, thus enhancing the visual impact and leading viewers to a journey of discovery with each piece.
Some landscapes signify the potential consequences of human interference. The presence of solitary trees or dilapidated structures amid vast expanses highlighted the resilience of nature and the impermanence of human achievements. The undulation of the landforms projects lyricality of intimacy and longing, the underlying layers of remnants of a bygone era. The fluidity of the ink becomes an elegy. The ink scapes exhibit an intriguing interplay of colors, representing a dynamic transition from vibrant hues to muted tones conveying a sense of detachment and dissociation that pervades the city spaces. The intermingling of abstract and natural forms evokes a sense of fragmentation and disconnection prevalent in modern cities. These shapes serve as a metaphorical language, capturing the disjointed nature of urban spaces. By adopting an aerial perspective or distorting traditional viewpoints, the artist challenges the viewer’s perception of the city. The intentional disruption of spatial order prompts contemplation of the urban encroachment on nature and the tension between the organic and the constructed world. The ink scapes can also be seen as texts that invite interpretation. Each stroke of the brush, each shade of ink, holds a subjective meaning, open to the viewers’ understanding, leaving them to decipher the embedded symbolism within. The exploration of urban dissociation through ink becomes a means to delve into the collective unconscious. The disorienting landscapes and dissociated forms can evoke feelings of unease and introspection, unraveling the deep-rooted anxieties and desires associated with urban living.
By drawing inspiration from modernist thinkers, we gain a more nuanced understanding of urban dissociation. The ink scapes in the exhibition resonate with the notion of the city as a space of fleeting impressions and fragmented experiences. The city is a metaphor for the analog of form, intellectual conflict, and a conscience for a scientific age. Capitalism’s impact on urban life finds echoes in the Inkscape exploration of disconnection and alienation, and non-commitment.
The emphasis on the social and cultural aspects of urban living – cataclysmic upheavals of culture, the convulsion of the human spirit, the narrowness of our consciousness, nausea, and terror of existence, complements the new dispositions of space and temporality transcending the humanistic, the material, and the real. The artist undermines stable centers of representation by displacing signifiers, frustrating the immediate presence of meaning, and decentering the subject and convention-bound reference to make the viewers oscillate between familiarity and strangeness. The exhibition becomes a place for the viewers to linger in between finitude and infinitude, which lets them have a glimpse of the vast open, free nature and its deprivation treating time as a menace to situatedness and privacy. Ink and You offers a modern salvation by venturing into the interior, and Saikat’s art becomes a shelter that has collected all the absences, losses, and annihilations of the estranged voices dislodged from their homes, connections, and sense of belonging by time.
The inauguration event was visited by many renowned guests who engaged in lively discussions with the artist, and the exhibition was transformed into a space of dialogue and interpretation. Art enthusiasts and collectors eagerly acquired the artist’s pieces, recognizing their timeless beauty and the intricacy of the medium. The exhibition gained commercial success and recognition through various media outlets and social media platforms, attracting a wider audience and further boosting the artist’s reputation. Workshops and experimental activities were also organized to disseminate a more practical knowledge of the skills and techniques of ink art. The exhibition is on display at Chhobi o Ghor Gallery till 16th July 2023, so catch up if you still need to visit.
