Gallery Artchill Presents it's 92nd Show
showing recent experimental art by
MOUMITA GHOSH ( SHAW)
at Amber Palace , Jaipur ( 28 Nov- 4th Dec)
Art Corridor at Le Meridien Jaipur from 17th to 23rd Dec. 2012
Moumita’s works
are replete with human faces and figures – male and female both – and birds,
flowers, fishes, butterflies, reptiles also inhabit these, with a certain
strange looking appearance. They seem to locate themselves with an expression
of ‘where are we/ searching for what? Solace? But where is that? Who is going
to give us love and care?’ their faces, and gestures are lit large with
question marks of various kinds, and moods. But howsoever strange they may
appear, these are not ‘distorted’ figures, as they embody an innocence, and a sensitivity of
their own. Their emergence is sure and direct, like we see objects
and figures in dreams, where they may not appear in the shapes and sizes of normal nature,
and familiar delineations, but in any case they are there, claiming a rugged
reality. And we all like to decode them according to our own interpretations
and perceptions.
But Moumita’s world is not a wonderland or dreamland only, although it has an affinity with dreams to a an extent. Infact it is about the process of trying to know the cause(s) of one’s joys and sufferings, and while experiencing them, wanting to know how they have affected the body and soul. Simultaneously searching for reassurances to bring oneself on one’s feet again. No wonder in some of the paintings, we find a drawing also of romping figures, and in some paintings the faces and figures seem to float, striving for a firm landing. Moumita is a painter of moods also, and perhaps at the spur of the moment, brush or pen in hand, she paints/draws her feelings in visual terms. In her paintings detailing does not occur, and whatever we are seeing is drawn separately, not as a ‘detail’. Thus in her works, each image has a ‘separate’ identity as well, and when they come together a context is formed.
A person inflicted with pain or injury or showered with joy does not remain the same in appearance – this also is amply demonstrated by Moumita’s ‘characters’ so to say. There is a painting where certain motifs have been hung, like clothes are hung on a wire. Once we fix our gaze at them, we realize that these are motifs which have been used as signifiers also, and their visual appearance is akin to props in a Theatre. Thus gradually it may occur that one is seeing something of a Theatre/ circus as well, where things appear somewhat differently.
This also brings to mind that in her earlier paintings joker/jester had a role to play. But we must conclude with the fact, that while she uses some elements of theatre, she uses them without theatricalities.
This ‘Theatre’ then has evolved naturally, organically, and there is no ‘acting’ as such is involved. By bearing, and then baring, the experiences of agony, grief, pain, compassion, and also of momentous Joy, Moumita creates a world, which is not depressing, but is uplifting in a sense.
Some people try to suggest that Moumita’s works are close to child art on Naïve Art, but this is not true. In fact she is ‘aware’ about the things she is depicting. She never romanticizes her images. The only thing is that she treats them raw, so a swollen lip, or eye wide open, look somewhat akin to ‘Child Art or naïve Art’.
Moumita also draws/ paints faces in duplicate, and puts them, and us in a quandary. But this is not to puzzle us, but to show how a particular experience is being transmitted visually. Her sources are many, from primitive to pop to painterly. Her colours have a glow and charm of their own. Her visual vocabulary has kept on increasing, and her latest works on paper are literally laced with laces, and glue, and are innovative and poetic.
With a sense of irony, and subtle wit and humour (as is exemplified in painting where three female figures seem to struggle with sartorial options) she captures the quintessence of myriad moods, and emotions, related to the very process of experiencing life. Initially we feel unsettled in front of her curios, but gradually come to terms with them. And start realizing their connotative value as well.
Prayag Shukla
