Images

This mammoth effort has a collection of over 250 works, wherein Bose has used more than 400 images related to war, culled from historical books and magazines. Thus, although numbered as a few, they end up as a splash across the entire gallery8217;s walls. The ultimate result is a conceptual work 8212; a show designed for the gallery. quot;This show is not a result of the Kargil war, it8217;s just a coincidence that it happened now.quot;

With an intent to incorporate abstraction and realism, Bose had discussed the idea with Sakshi8217;s Geetha Mehra four months back. But as in his earlier shows, the gallery space and design played an important role in the conceptualisation. quot;I like to organise and think space. The space inspired me more than the subject I was working on.quot; So, while the subject had aesthetic significance, bringing along a change in the pre-phase and post-phase look of the gallery was equally important. quot;Then, I was thinking about art and culture and how it has changed drastically. Which always happens after a war or a holocaust.quot;

The basic principle behind this exercise is an attempt to draw public attention to the pointlessness of war. And although he has used war imagery and pictures that are documentative, there is absolutely nothing from the recent Kargil episode. quot;It is a kind of mausoleum, an attempt to recycle time, and the past. War is like giving death, but after the success there8217;s a kind of celebration. And I8217;ve shown both. For, war is absurd.quot;

Applying the saying quot;the beginning of a war is a secretquot;, to the creative world, Bose firmly believes that any strong creative idea germinates in secret places, as in darkness. Which is why he prefers working in his semi-lit studio at Tardeo. For him, all his works are more than just paintings, sculptures or installations 8212; every work is an idea. While he doesn8217;t believe in theme-making, Bose8217;s shows work toward visual appeal, which he achieves in the present exhibition as well. With an element of everything from abstract, realistic and installation art, what we have here is a mixed show 8212; one that is aesthetically appealing.

Besides the larger works, there are a few photo albums mounted on the backdrop of a graphed wall. Painted black, with charred edges lending them a burnt look, the albums hold war-blurred pictures coloured in hues of red, green and blue. quot;A graph is not just a mathematical or geographical term, it is everywhere. You look at a person through a graph, you learn things through graphs as well.quot; And he uses this practical term, passing through a minimal space, to show the impracticality of war.

The use of black and silver lends a somber mood, while there is a deliberate use of bright colours to give the collection an Indian feel. quot;When we laugh, we laugh loudly. The clothes that we wear are very bright. Here everything is in the extreme, there are the poor and the rich 8212; but there8217;s no in-between for us.quot; This polarity is a common feature to all his shows 8212; the contradictions put together, there are no grey scales in Bose8217;s work.

The other devices he has used for this show are graph, grid and perforations 8212; the latter to represent bullet holes. quot;I never saw these elements being used in my learning stages, so it is almost like one of my inventions. It8217;s like developing my own craft to art. For art is not just craftsmanship, it is an incorporation of aesthetics and craftsmanship that gives you confidence to experiment further.quot;

Bose hopes to give a living-room experience of war with this exhibition. quot;I wanted to show the extremes of life and death.quot; In some of the works, he has placed the pictures upside down, to give the image of God looking down. The same aerial view comes across in a sculpture of small houses, mounted on a wall, hanging together, with an omnipresent shadow over it that represents death. In fact, each image seems to scream out the same question, quot;Why warquot;?

At the Sakshi Gallery, Synergy Art Foundation Ltd, 39 A1, Sri Ram Mills Compound, Lower Parel. Till August 21. Time: 11.00 am to 6.00 pm.