City alert
City Chutney is an exhibition of sculptures, mocking space-crunched cities and it’s people, obviously.
If one sees photographs of Loknath Sinha’s sculptures, they can be mistaken for stills fromclay animation films. One has to see these in real to experience the size and visual effect that the colourful, wood and metal sculptures have.
A selection of six sculptures and five paintings by Baroda-based Sinha is on view at The Viewing Room in Colaba. Wide-eyed faces, smirking and smiling, multitude of colourful hands reaching out of a grilled sandwich and replica’s of digital smileys spread all over the canvas, are few examples of the playful manner in which the artist comments on life in a city.
Urban living and its effects, Sinha’s work intervene cultural, social and personal aspects, metaphorically.City Chutney has it’s core, in the desperation and need for space in cities. It reflects – in a mocking and satirizing way – the manner in which city dwellers are deprived of space and surrounded by technology. “City life to me is similar to becoming a commodity, a product, a use and throw object.”
Part of the exhibition is painted fiberglass on canvas, sculptures in wood, fiberglass and metals, and watercolour paintings on paper. Although the sculptures in the show are engaging for its techniques, fun element, playfulness and mockery, the paintings on paper fail to seize attention.
A video, created out of sketches and drawings plays playful music in the background. On the whole, the exhibition is fun-filled and lighthearted, speaking about grave issues of city-dwelling that often remain uncontested and taken for granted, a mix of the sweet and sour of urbanization.
The 34-year-old artist pursued sculpture studies at M S University, Baroda following which, he took a course in multimedia CDAC, from Pune. He then worked with film and participated in group shows. This is Sinha’s first solo show.
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