Self Involved

There are unapologetic undercurrents of homoerotism and sadomasochism in the works of Abir Karmakar displayed at the exhibition 8220;Within the Walls8221; at Gallery Espace. Though the 30-year-old, Vadodara-based artist demurs that he is fascinated by the male body, the 12 large-scale oils on canvases have him trussed in a lurid position on a bed in a posh hotel room, crouched naked in a small passageway and huddled in a washroom, fenced off by a washbasin. And, in all the works, Karmakar has used himself as an androgynous subject.

8220;The journey started four years back,8221; says the diminutive Karmakar, whose works created a lot of interest among artists like Vivan Sundaram, Bharti Kher, Subodh Gupta and Gopi Gajwani who were seen eulogizing over the nude male tromping about the room with almost a sadomasochistic glee.

Even in the 2005 exhibition 8220;From My Photo Album8221;, Karmakar had shown images of a drag queen, with his face superimposed over the lithe female body. Ask whether he is trying to depict himself, and he says, 8220;I am filling the grey areas between male and female. To call the works homoerotic would be like trapping them.8221;

The choice of environment, cloistered rooms, he points out, is 8220;to create another layer8221;. 8220;The rooms become an extension of the body,8221; he says. And as art critic Gayatri Sinha says in her essay, 8220;The imperfect body gains attention.8221; It is the unremarkable body of Karmakar that is deified as a celebrity. The price of the works begins at a forbidding Rs 18 lakh and goes up to Rs 75 lakh.

The exhibition is on till October 21. For details call 26326267