Artist Heeral Trivedi plays with images from childrens books,giving them serious undertones Heeral Trivedi has come a long way from her first exhibition at the Prithvi Art Gallery in Mumbai. After a big solo at USA INC,New York ,in 2008,she has scaled the art metre,but more importantly,her style has been constantly evolving. Her latest solo,Name Place Animal Thing,at Anant Art Gallery ,Lado Sarai,has the artist moving away from abstracts for a canvas filled with delightful figures. With a clever juxtaposing of stickers and cutouts from childrens books with her own drawings,Trivedi creates a world of floating objects seen through a soft haze of grey/green tones. Ive sought to revisit the aspect of drawing that occupied me while studying at Baroda, says the 36-year-old artist. I went about gathering images,many of which were from my childrens books. Some had art historical references like Leonardo Da Vincis drawing of the flying machine, says Trivedi,who has now settled in Vadodara. She has worked with pencils,charcoal and acrylic on plain and coloured paper and canvas. The images are free to be interpreted any way, says Trivedi,a mom of two kids,who juggles between caring for her children and stealing time to work in the studio. Interestingly,the title of the show is not derived from the childrens game; the artist assures us that it is because all these elements names,places,animals and things are in the show. The work Bird Watchers Club emphasises on flying machines,from birds to planes to missiles and satellites. This work is not about war,but from a childs perspective where everything in the sky comes together,whether it is a bird or a plane, says Trivedi. In other canvases,there are references to Greek architecture,columns and the triumphal arch. These do have underlying reference to politics,but I dont want to foreground that, says the artist,whose subtle reference to crumbling law and order is over-layered by migratory birds or objects like an old water heater or a periscope. Amid this swirling chaos are kitschy stickers which often decorate childrens textbooks and lunchboxes. Trivedi tells us that quoting kitsch is passé. Kitsch is part of daily life; its not exclusive to my work. I am more interested in its interplay with the inner repository that I draw on. My carefree manner of working has returned in a mature way, concludes the artist. We couldnt agree more. The show is on till December 15. Contact: 41554775
