Beyond Limits, an art exhibition that started last weekend and is on till 15 October at Studio 55 in Sunder Nagar has differently abled artists participating from around the country.
One is a mentally challenged Madhubani specialist from Bihar, another is a hearing impaired, illiterate and paints only tigers (see photo). Known as Imamuddin, he hails from Ranthambore and used to be a signboard painter before he became an artist. There is another artist from Ladakh who only focuses on dragon and symbols of Gods.
Then there are works by Shreekant Dubey, a well-known artist whose right hand got amputated following an accident. He then trained his left hand to write as well as paint and now works as an art teacher in a government school.
Many of these are qualified artists with masters degrees in Fine Arts but have so far lacked a platform to showcase their work. The exhibition has been put together by a Delhi-based organisation called Family of Disabled (FOD) whose founder Rajinder Johar is himself a quadriplegic.
Johar worked as a doctor in a Lucknow hospital treating people with disabilities when a bullet injury led him to lose the use of his limbs. Despite being bed-ridden, he founded FOD 17 years ago and this is their annual art exhibition.
{{/usCountry}}Johar worked as a doctor in a Lucknow hospital treating people with disabilities when a bullet injury led him to lose the use of his limbs. Despite being bed-ridden, he founded FOD 17 years ago and this is their annual art exhibition.
{{/usCountry}}The idea is to help them become economically independent by giving 80 per cent of the funds to them. The prices for these artworks start at Rs 200 for a 4 by 4 inch work and going up to Rs 10, 000 for a 24 by 36 inch work.