THE MIRROR CRACKD

A new year brings for the artist a fresh trajectory to her work,one where self-reflection is her primary concern. The earlier two shows,Throne of Frost 2007 and All Night I Shall Gallop 2008,were more festive. For this exhibition,I have used the necklace as a metaphor. Other costumes and accessories,collars,turbans and necklaces speak a sombre and dark emotional language, says the 45-year-old artist. In one painting from the show,the necklace is a noose-like rope that unwinds from the neck of its wearer in a maze of time travel,of waning self-portraits that hide behind a Japanese hunter,naked from the waist up,intent on his search of imaginary prey.

From her first solo in 1991 at the Chemould Art Gallery to the Venice Biennale,in 2009,Dodiya has got worldwide recognition. She remains an artist who prefers to be seen and not heard,except for those rare moments when she leaves her retreat to share her work. Dodiyas simplicity has fuelled works described as poignant,strong and autobiographical with layers of myth woven in. That she uses the self-portrait is not because of an inherent narcissism but because she is keen to plumb the depths of self-consciousness.

Her watercolours are her take on the heroic,romantic representation of the self and self-discovery. There is something vulnerable in her works. Anjus paintings start a process of moving beyond the narrow self and towards a larger self among the others, says Nancy Adajania,an art critic and cultural theorist.

Throne of Frost was touted as a pinnacle of her creativity. In it,an elaborate installation of broken mirrors adorned the palatial Durbar Hall of the Lukshmi Villas Palace in Vadodara. The mirrors,reflections and embroidered mattresses were more open-hearted fun work, says Dodiya. When the show travelled to the Bodhi Art Gallery in Mumbai,the mirrors were replaced by a maze of embroidered mattresses juxtaposed by Dodiyas signature stark charcoals. After that festive outburst,Dodiya surprises her viewers by retreating into her more contemplative inner space. This work is motivated by private relationships,a pantomime of pain, she says.

Loss is something that Dodiya has also touched upon in a series known as the Mourners,paintings that mark the explosions at Gateway in Mumbai 2003 which left several bystanders dead. Mourners is currently on the backburner. I intend to return to that series,but first I must attend to the tight knots of the necklace image, she says.

Neither spouse and fellow painter Atul Dodiya nor she are the kinds to leave their familiar surroundings in Ghatkopar,Mumbai. Despite the market boom,wearing designer labels or partying into the night is a lifestyle choice they have chosen not to make. A striking factor of Dodiyas work is that it is distinctly different from Atuls. While Atul freely mingles Bollywood kitsch,Raja Ravi Varma and references to Marcel Duchampan aspect of his work that often garners an audience beyond gallery-goersAnju looks toward autobiography.
Her works are informed by early Renaissance masters like Piero della Francesca and Giotto,medieval French tapestries and Japanese Ukiyo-e prints. Armed with these,she weaves allegorical tales laced with a personal vocabulary,where the visage,rises toward her day after day like a terrible fish.
The show starts on January 17 and will continue for a month