The past is omnipresent in its unique way through dreams, visions and memories which we ponder on, absorb and move on to the present. The art exhibition — Alchemy of Memories, brings together strands of memories expressed artistically on canvas and other mediums by 11 young residency artists from all over India.
heritage trail: Artist Aji Adoor’s artwork on Lord Buddha and Gandhara region
Presenting their work are artists Dinar Sultana Putul, Ekta Singha, Navjot Sohal, Krishna Trivedi, Akshita Aggarwal, Krishnal Fulwala, Biplab Sarkar, Ajaysingh Bhadoriya, Aji Adoor, Midhun Gopi and Prabhakar Sahoo. Curated by Ruchi Sharma, the show is an attempt to unravel changing perceptions.
flight of success: Artist Akshita Aggarwal’s interpretation of life
The exhibition displays art that explores the subconscious memories and the artists have presented their work across several mediums through stylistic approaches, ranging from the abstract to dramatisation. For Akshita Aggarwal, her paintings mainly focused on how she perceives success. “Everyone has their own way to attain success. I have used flights of stairs and birds as a symbolic representation of the same,” she says. A similar route is taken by artist Aji Adoor where he has used symbolism to merge memories and presented a splendid artwork. He has portrayed the ‘Seated Buddha’ from Gandhara, as an icon of peace, and a final state of complete achievement. “I was reading about the Gandhara region in modern-day Pakistan and how an early statue of the Buddha was discovered there. I thought bringing both together would elevate the importance of the place and the richness of the memories,” he says. Aji effectively used vibrant hues of orange and pink to bring forth the royal heritage of the place. One artwork which truly took viewers on a time warp was a series of paintings by Ekta Singha. Ekta brought together her tenuous Rajputi heritage to the forefront with her ‘journal’ painting. Elaborating about her work and inspiration behind the series, she says, “Even though I am a half Rajputi, I have never been there. So after my research on it, I felt it would be perfect to bring the Rajputi culture and architecture onto the old faded pages of a diary, as if the paintings are actually a part of someone’s true journal.”
