The diversity and vivacity of contemporary Indian art is the focus of 1x1 Gallery's latest exhibition, We are in Al Quoz Now… The show features selected works by established and emerging Indian artists such as Anjum Singh, Babu Eshwar Prasad, Baiju Parthan, Bose Krishnamachari, Biju Joze, Chinmoy Pramanick, Chittrovanu Mazumdar, Dilip Chobisa, Farhad Hussain, G. R. Iranna, George Martin, Justin Ponmany, Murali Cheeroth, Riyas Komu, Sharmi Chowdhury, Shibu Natesan and Sumedh Rajendran.
The artworks range from paintings and sculptures to photographs and multimedia installations. Among the eye-catching pieces are Sharmi Chowdhury's painted drainage pipes. The images she has painted on the pipes are based on her own observations of migrants and also inspired by a book that tells the story of those rendered homeless after the historic partition of India. Titled Rolling Stones, this work is primarily about displacement and migration. But it is also about the very temporality of living in the streets, with makeshift dwellings serving as shelters for homeless people. "My images straddle the realms of realism and imagination. I have placed a metal trunk inside the pipe to heighten the rolling nature of life inside these temporal dwellings. The box contains all essentials and the minimum accessories one needs to retain one's sense of self-preservation while migrating from one place to another. This work explores the experience of migration and the course of life on the move and reflects the rootlessness typical of our times," Chowdhury says.
Riyas Komu also focuses on the suffering of ordinary people. His passport photo-like portraits of people with downcast eyes tell dark stories about fear, pain and the sinister shadow of violence, while commenting on the way nationality and ideology can create differences between human beings. Similarly, his wood sculpture of a footballer's leg with tensed sinews and protruding metal bars is like an enactment of war with the intertwining of body and machine.
In sharp contrast are the tranquil graphic images that Biju Joze creates from stickers. "I am interested in exploring the multilayered relationship between man and object. Hence I manipulate the form of these objects by playing with the scale, function and context and try to create new and unique narratives by a process of fragmentation and reconstruction of the concept and the material," Joze says.
Other interesting pieces in the show include Baiju Parthan's illuminated installation inspired by his interest in engineering, botany and cyberspace; Babu Eshwar Prasad's triptych of painted wood inlay works; Justin Ponmany's quirky photographs of a tennis ball; and Anant Joshi's pixilated studies of toys and dolls houses.
Adding a big splash of colour to the show are George Martin's psychedelic paintings of everyday life; Farhad Hussain's symbolist works; and canvases from Bose Krishnamachari's iconic series, Stretched Bodies. A portrait by Krishnamachari highlights the versatility of the artist, who is best known for his socio-political installations. Chittrovanu Mazumdar also displays his versatility and mastery over different media through his stunning abstract paintings, mystical light boxes and an illuminated wood and copper installation.
Colours and familiar objects take on different meanings in Manjunath Kamath's tiny canvases. Arranged in sets of seven, the canvases depict people, animals and everyday objects in unusual perspectives and juxtapositions to create intriguing narratives. Equally thought-provoking are G. R. Iranna's paintings on tarpaulin — one depicting a blind maharaja standing beside his throne and the other a masked boy sitting atop a pile of plastic chairs.
As the title of the exhibition suggests, it has been organised to announce the consolidation of 1x1 Art Gallery's activities at its premises in Al Quoz. "Our growth over the past 15 years reflects the changes in the art scene in Dubai," says gallery director Malini Gulrajani. "We began as a tiny outlet in a mall and were focused on bringing the work of leading contemporary Indian artists to Dubai. As international recognition of Indian art grew, we moved to a larger space on Al Wasl Road. The growing maturity of the art scene in Dubai encouraged us to work with many young emerging artists and to showcase cutting-edge multimedia installations in a second space in Al Quoz.
"Now we are happy to move all our activities to Al Quoz because it has developed into a vibrant art quarter with many former industrial warehouses being converted to art galleries.
"I chose the neutral name 1x1 for this gallery because I wanted it to be a space with infinite possibilities. And this larger space in a dynamic artistic environment gives us much more freedom to exhibit a varied range of artworks and to organise various art-related events."
Jyoti Kalsi is a UAE-based arts enthusiast.
We are in Al Quoz Now… is on at 1x1, Al Quoz, until November 30.
