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Expressing grief, dealing with solitude through art in times of Covid-19
Chandigarh Lalit Kala Akademi opens the first of its three online exhibitions on the theme of life during the pandemic
The artists of Le Corbusier’s city have taken it upon themselves to express the grief of loss and experience with stillness and healing during the lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic. So, the months April and May have yielded over a 100 works of art in different mediums by artists young and senior.
The first collection of paintings and sculptures by 30 artists of the city has been mounted in a well-curated online show. It is interesting indeed to see how each artist in his or her own unique way has responded to a season in which the human species remained confined indoors as nature reclaimed its spaces free of pollution.
Each artist has a story to tell. Interestingly, sculptor Vishal Bhatnagar was without his sculpting tools and material at home during the lockdown. “I watched my wife Reena make paintings and yearned to do some work too. Finally, I came across some mango wood used for havan (ritual by fire) and the sacred red cotton thread called mauli. So I worked on these and the result is a very interesting form resembling a bull pushing through troubled times made of pieces of wood held together by red thread,” says Bhatnagar.
Meanwhile, his wife Reena did a series of paintings in her usual architectural motifs capturing in colour the form of Le Corbusier’s city sans its people.
For Daphy Brar, a fashion designer exploring the artist within her, this is a time of great personal sorrow as her mother passed away a few days before the lockdown. “The first painting I made was that of my mother with her face painted in monochrome, flaming pink petals for hair. It was a painting of grave loss but also a celebration of her life and spirit. This led me to make other portraits of friends and others who have enriched my life in motifs of cheer against the dark blues of the skies,” she says.
Among the other artists included in the show are Madan Lal, Satwant Singh, Jaskanwal Jit, Vijay Ozo, Mahesh Prajapati and others. Naturescapes by Bheem as well as Lippi Parida deserve a mention. One now waits for more.
