Voices in Colour

The All-India Women Artists Contemporary Art Exhibition showcases an amalgamation of socio-political expressions

WITH as many as 150 works on display,the All-India Women Artists Contemporary Art Exhibition organised by Artscapes clearly has a wide canvas. The show highlights responses of women artists from across the country and among those who are impressed is Johny ML,art critic,curator and writer.

The variety of visual and creative engagement is what makes these young women artists interesting. They have come out of their closets and have created works that deal not only with romantic fantasies but also with socio-political realities and science fiction, he says. Artscapes,a non-profit and non-government organisation,attempts to provide a bridge between artists and art lovers through its annual exhibition. This years platform is bigger and showcases young women artists of the country.

Being held at the art galleries of Panjab University Museum,the exhibition has on display paintings,sculptures,and photographs. Among the award winners is Amruta Dharampal Shambharkar from Nagpur. Her etching,Man amp; Machine,depicts an urban landscape full of highrises,with a blood-stained dinosaur-like creature enveloping the entire area. The reptile is made up of various machine parts.

Jyotsna Gyananis mix media on paper,Untitled III,has a large well strewn with buckets,with red ropes providing a dash of colour to the work. The absence of water,with empty buckets hanging listlessly,makes an effective statement. Ivy Mandal has received an award of Rs 20,000 for Phenomenon of Attraction,a coloured woodcut,while Suchita Rais three ceramic works in blue,Global Warming,show melting glaciers and a world without trees.

An arresting work,Passenger,depicts a crowded train with people of various walks of life. A variety of colours and Raka Pandas focus on faces makes the journey absorbing. Chandigarh-based Satwinder Kaurs External Expression is a comment on our duality. She portrays the external and internal,with two figures in bright colours,one that is silent,and the other attempting to converse. The beauty and serenity of Chamba and the mountain goats resting on a hillside makes for a picturesque image titled Hail the Queen. Another sensitive work,Ms Universe,by Sheetal CS in watercolour depicts the birth of life in a womans womb,with the foetuses changing form and colour.

Many artists have showcased their concern for environmental degradation. Landscapes,different moods of women and portraits of celebrated women such as Mother Teresa are also a part of the display.

Lotus is an intricate sculpture by Girija Hemant in Bhopal with the artist playing with red to create layers,while Gagandeep Kaur makes a large Sui Dhaga in wood. Potable Accommodation by Kayo Hosoya in iron sheet is a home with six windows shaped like a kettle,as citys Komalpret Kaur uses aluminium to depict Stages of Life.

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Tribal motifs dot the ceramic pot of Nirmala Sharma,while Nivedita Gautab uses fibre glass to create a beautiful pahari woman. Schoolbags in sand stone is Priyanka Guptas symbol of burden,as Veenu plays with steel rods and beads to create a hanging sculpture. A symbol of cover is a brass and aluminium umbrella by Aisharjya Konwar titled Just Not An Umbrella.

The show is on at Panjab University Museum till April 5