Conversations over Irani chai, the balloon seller who flaunts his colourful balloons, the celebration during the festival of Bonalu... are scenes etched in the memory of artist Akshay Anand Singh. Born and brought up in the city, Akshay’s fondness for Hyderabad only grew with the years and the only way he could pay tribute to Hyderabad was through his art show, City of Memories.
Akshay’s latest collection at the Kalakriti Art Gallery, has close to 20 artworks. “Over the years I’ve seen the city evolve and change. A few years ago, Irani cafes would only see men, chatting over cups of chai, but today you also find women and youngsters at these cafes. I was intrigued by the changed scenario. Both scenes equally captivating, so I thought of blending the old, and new in my artwork. In a few other paintings, like the balloon-seller, the background also shows how the city has developed,” says the artist who graduated from the University of Hyderabad in 2002.
The idea was to mainly focus on the local elements. “The festival of Bonalu for example is celebrated very grandly here, the colours, sights and sounds are very captivating, something you don’t find everywhere, so, I just had to include that in my work,” he says.City of Memories, comprises mixed-media work which the artist says took him four months to put together. “I got busy in between, so I did not have the time to come up with a solo show, until now,” he says.
This is his third solo show, but his last show was in 2009. Akshay says, “The reason for the gap is that I took part in many group shows after 2009. I was also busy painting for clients who bought my work, so when I got a little free time, I worked on City of Memories,” he explains.The art show will be on at Kalakriti Art Gallery, Upper Lobby, Trident Hyderabad until December 31.
