An artist’s exploration of the duality of life
Artist Revati Sharma Singh brings into focus the duality between hunger and abundance through her artworks. Her works, exhibited as part of an online exhibition, were recently displayed at London’s Start Art Fair 2021.
New Delhi A newspaper with two adjoining headlines — 30 thousand ton foodgrain wasted due to poor storage facilities, and 20 farmers ending their lives. This was enough to transport London-based Indian artist Revati Sharma Singh into deep thoughts. Left aghast at the contrast between abundance and hunger, something she calls “the two simultaneous truths of life”, Singh began to explore this theme through art, on various mediums including canvas, terracotta, and grain like objects of gold and silver, and even used jute that’s used to carry grains.
Her works, created between 2019 and 2021, are currently exhibited in an online show titled Sarva Sunyata, and were displayed, earlier this month, at London’s Start Art Fair 2021. Talk about the show’s title, and the artist explains how it “comes from a stanza in the Rig Veda”, and is an interplay of the words ‘sarva’ (everything) and ‘sunyata’ (nothing), which often co-exist in conflict.
Bringing into sharp focus, the ongoing tussle between natural produce with human mismanagement and greed, Singh’s art is a culmination of her decade long work and thoughts. “Such is life, the contrast between hunger and abundance, between two extremes of the same coin. These truths are simultaneous. While it started with the physical aspect of food, hunger, waste, greed and abundance, it has in the last 10 years, for me, progressed to a more quiet, internal conversation,” she says.
Even her choice of mediums such as clay “which is the humblest form of material in human perception” and valuable metals such as 18 karat gold and sterling silver, exhibit this duality. “I had words written on the gold grain from different philosophers who spoke to me. I started including these grains in clay. This also had a duality between ‘lots and less’,” explains Singh, who has explored various media including oil paintings, to create portraits and sketches in the past.
“My paintings are very layered, just like people are,” says Singh, adding, “Often one wouldn’t notice slow, covert changes in the weather, just like one wouldn’t pay heed to the internal workings of the mind of a stranger.” In a way, then, adding layers only unpeels her art’s subject and her own thoughts.
“The scale and able handling of different mediums results in a symphony where each work complements the other very subtly yet ingeniously. We have seen Revati working with diverse mediums for many years and with each passing year, we have observed her work getting more striking and distinct,” says Tripat K Kalra from Gallerie Nvya, which has organised the show.
Catch It Live
What: Sarva Sunyata
Where: www.gallerienvya.com
On till: November 17
Author tweets @siddhijainn