New Delhi   

Eloquent depictions of real life

Charcoal on paper by Sharmi Chowdhury

NEW DELHI: A three-week-long painting exhibition of Kolkata-born artist Sharmi Chowdhury titled ‘When Images Speak Back…’ is now open for view at Art Alive Gallery in Panchsheel Park here.

Describing her recent work as “experiments on the question of representing men and women engaged in a given situation”, Sharmi says the works are neither metaphorical nor allegorical.

“My paintings are in no way pretentious with regards to their meaning or subject matter. That is not to say there is ambiguity. The works are not narrative in nature and there is no story involved in the whole presentation. If anything is aimed in these works, it is a way to represent human beings in a given context,” adds the artist who lives and works in Vadodara.

Sharmi says relationships are deeply rooted in the fabric of a modern, patriarchal social system. “In this system, man is the norm and woman is a sign that consolidates him as a centre of the system. What I intend to do through my works is to bring out the performance of ‘her’, establishing ‘her’ playful role.”

According to Jawaharlal Nehru University School of Arts and Aesthetics Professor Parul Dave Mukherji, the artist has distanced herself from storytelling as she is apprehensive that it will detract attention from the reformative aspect of her labour or modalities of expression. “This compels her to reject both the metaphorical and the allegorical aspects that she considers superfluous to her main intentions. The other reason for her discomfort with storytelling is her desire to prevent images from turning into illustrations,” says Mukherji, who has taught at M. S. University in Vadodara.

Born in 1974, Sharmi completed her Bachelor of Fine Arts in painting from Kala Bhavan at Santiniketan in 2003 and Master of Fine Arts in painting from M.S. University at Baroda in 2005.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Supreme Court hearing today
Auto Expo steers the super bike back into fashion
Hungarian cultural feast for the Capital
Lok Sabha MP seeks protection
Protest against ‘biased’ reporting on human rights
Sharp increase in Metro ridership
High Court stays CAT order
Leading nephrologists attend summit
Foundation for community hall laid
CBI not to close anti-Sikh riots case against Tytler
Preparing for Republic Day
Delhi Cabinet nod for online ‘Jeevan’ project
Appeal for display of pictorial warnings on tobacco products
Move to sort out discoms’ depreciation charges
Counsellors’ Course on AIDS inaugurated
‘Mulayam should approach Sonia directly’
Festive time
Telangana not linked to second SRC, says Moily
Supreme Court hearing on jallikattu today
Eloquent depictions of real life
Nod for Capital’s corridor to the future
West Bengal hit by bird flu?
Pedestrian killed by Blueline
Two teenagers arrested
Man held for auto theft
Constable sustains bullet injury
Driver held for murder
Young couple, children die of asphyxiation
Four held on cheating charges
St. Stephen’s issues notices to two senior History lecturers
Inside delhi
In the capital tomorrow
Yes, Minister?
In the capital today

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu