Festival Picks

ON the ground floor of the exhibition space at the India Art Festival,amid the hundreds of paintings is one exhibit that stands out for its uniqueness. Created by Delhi-based artist,Seema Kohli,this walkthrough is a splash of greens,blues and reds that has been designed to replicate a rainforest,with a number of butterflies of different sizes scattered all over the area. Called,Butterfly Rain,it reflects on a species that the artist believes is not given enough importance by conservationists.

“When I was growing up,there were so many butterflies everywhere,” she reminisces. “Now it’s hard to find even one.” Kohli believes that while the many projects dealing with the preservation of larger species such as the tiger are necessary,the smaller ones are getting sidelined in the bargain. “Even when we do think about small species,we only think as small as the sparrow,” she says. So this exhibit is her contribution to raise awareness about the butterfly,a species that she believes deserves just as much attention.

The prize winner

LIKE so many others,Shashikant Dhotre,a young artist from Maharashtra’s Solapur,heard of the festival and thought it would be a good platform to showcase his work. He,however,got more recognition than he imagined when,during its inauguration,he was announced the winner of the India Art Festival Award,which includes a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh. Of his works on display,all,barring one,are beautiful images of women in various poses,intricately done with colour pencils on black paper. Referring to photographs taken by him,he says this is a medium he has been working with for close to three years and wants to explore this further.

In Print

IN an attempt to help further their careers,17 students from the Sir JJ School of Arts have created a limited edition portfolio of their works and those of the five professional artists — Abdul Aziz Raiba,Lalitha Lajmi,Liz Ballard,Simon Liddiment and Charwei Tsai —who worked with them on the project titled Auguries JJXXI. Mentored by Clark House,Mumbai,these students of the Printmaking Department will display and sell their works during the festival. “The main idea was to promote printmaking in India and to help students get out of the campus space and communicate with professional artists,” said Nikhil Raunak,one of the students associated with the project.

Sculpture Park

ONE of sections in the exhibition space that catches visitors’ attention is the one featuring large sculptures. Sculpture Park,the space dedicated to sculptures at the festival,has large creations that demand a closer look. Jitish Kallat’s 2009 creation,Annexation,stands at the front,with Narendra Yadav’s Awareness,GR Iranna’s Peace and Pieces,Saroj Kumar Singh’s Blooming Pot (from Imagination),Valay Shende’s work and others,making this section a must-watch.