Destination Mumbai

Which is probably why the title of their 39th exhibition,‘Thirty Years of Restless Exploration’,celebrating the 30th anniversary of the group,is an apt one. The exhibition will continue at the Jehangir Art Gallery till May 16.

Apart from their bold experimentation with form,texture,colour,tone,space and perspective,there’s also a strong tinge of social consciousness that shade the 16 paintings which are being showcased. In artist and founding member of Painters ’80,Pradosh Paul’s Don’t Be Scared,My Child,for example,a young child is crying over the loss of his family during the 26/11 terror attack. In the background,the silhouette of the Madonna with a child entreats him not to cry.

Alik Das’ two paintings,titled Imagine 1 and Imagine 2 are social commentaries on the darkness (rendered by stark black strokes) that is slowly creeping upon humanity. Amit Chakraborty,another founding member,has painted an abstract on the various functions performed by a pair of hands.

Although Paul says that the only weapon they’re willing to wield is the paintbrush (“We’re not politicians. We’re painters.”),the group has in the past organised processions,plays and two exhibitions,‘Brushing Off Terror’ 1 and 2,to protest against the Gujarat riots,the 26/11 attack and the state-engineered killing at Nandigram.

“We make it a point to hold at least one workshop and one exhibition in Kolkata every year,” says Das. The group meets every Tuesday at writer and president of Painters ‘80 Aniruddha Lahiri’s house to discuss the projects they’re working on and plan group activities.