An exhibition on culture of excess
That’s what the bloated figures in artist Vidha Saumya’s debut solo show represent. Ballpoint pen drawings, sculptures and even photographs are part of this show, which aims to examine the notions of beauty, hoarding and excesses that dominates thought process today.
Ballpoint pen drawings, sculptures and even photographs are part of this show, which aims to examine the notions of beauty, hoarding and excesses that dominates thought process today.
Their creator, young artist Vidha Saumya, explains it thus: “There’s an obsession with thin, skinny bodies, and over time, it has evolved into something more. Simply put, it’s a culture of excess. We like to hoard, collect and have options for each and every thing. The functionality and value of every person or product has gone down because we have substitutes and quick solutions for everything.”
Saumya’s gargantuan figures — pale, laughing, floating — are embedded with the latest hairstyles, jewellery and patterns that today’s women covet. “It’s simply the culture around me, which even I’m a part of in many ways. At times, I enjoy it too,” says the artist, unhesitatingly. She adds an example, “When we were little, our parents would ask us to tidy our rooms when guests were to visit.
We’d just stuff everything into one corner and toss a pretty bed sheet over it. It may have been bulky and shapeless,
but the pattern was beautiful, so we considered it acceptable. This is the very same notion.”
The exhibit, titled Love Charades, starts with a series of photographs. “I took a human model of that size and dressed her in costumes and make-up as depicted in the drawings,” says Saumya, who has created 14 drawings using a ballpoint pen on Chinese paper.
The show is rounded off by a series of 10 palm-sized sculptures, to add a third dimension to the display. Love Charades by Vidha Saumya is on display at Galerie Mirchandani+ Steinruecke till December 8.
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