Team Viva explores the premise of the joint-exhibition, Dreamscapes, which will be featuring the works of Argentinian artist Julia Romano and Mumbai-based Meghna Patpatia
The world around us plays a distinct role in formulating our perceptions, ideas and inspirations. The ‘scape’ is defined as any extended view or the picture/representation of one. Be it a landscape, cityscape or seascape, each represents the inextricable relationship humans tend to form with their geographical surroundings. Argentinian artist Julia Romano and Indian artist Meghna Patpatia, though divided by geography and culture, merge in their expression of this intricate relationship with the scape — a relationship that is universally experienced by all on this planet. Both take existing realistic elements and combine them with the surreal elements of mythology and ancient anthropology. The endeavour is to create these dreamscapes that question what is real and what is imagined, what is physical and what is metaphorical,” says Sanjana Shah, the creative director of Tao Art Gallery, one of the oldest galleries in Mumbai. The gallery will be hosting a unique show, comprising the works of Romano and Patpatia, called Dreamscapes.
Curated by Shah, the show will be up for previewing on October 21, 6 pm onwards and will be on display till November 25, 2021. The exhibition is set to be inaugurated by the Consul General of Argentina, Mr Guillermo Eduardo Devoto.
At Dreamscapes, viewers will witness the merger in the expression of the two artists from diverse cultures and geography.
Shah, the India ambassador of Arte Laguna Prize, hopes to juxtapose Romano’s digital landscapes with Meghna’s artworks. Commenting on the upcoming show, she shares, “Dreamscapes pairs together two artists from different cultures and geographical landscapes, but who share the same desire to explore the synergy between humans and the land they inhabit. As a curator, I found this thematic overlap between the two to be interesting and relevant: Romano explores the impact of past ancestral generations on land, while Patpatia envisions a surreal alternate reality or dystopian future as a result of it. The seed of the idea is the same, but the techniques and treatment of the works are different. Both create beautifully stunning and poignant works as a result! I am excited for the audience to come and experience the show and this synergy live in action.”
Dreamscapes will beautifully highlight aspects of co-existence and cultural synergy with a subtle undertone of the threat of depletion in a dystopian future. Much like the land around us, the art is layered, multi-faceted and deep in composition.
Talking about her first show in India, Romano reveals, “I am thrilled to be part of this exhibition, working with such great people as the Tao Gallery team. I am showing my series of landscapes made with different parts of places photographed by me and painted by classical European artists; these oases are a mixture of time, space and culture. I made one work especially for the show with images taken from my surroundings here in Córdoba (the mountains, trees and plants from my neighbourhood and my garden) and put them together with a panoramic view of Mumbai. So, challenging this union! Only art can be this magical. I strongly believe that by doing this in collage, we are also bonding in real life.”
Taking it a step further by using the past to imagine the future, Patpatia adds, “Tao has a wonderful space that merges visuals seamlessly with narratives and the ability to collate artists worldwide. Sanjana’s curatorial foresight and ability to weave a juxtapositioning of Julia and my art practices have intuitively brought about Dreamscapes. Super excited to see it unfurl.”
These combined artistic dreamscapes of this joint-exhibition will help in bringing the world a little bit closer and opening our minds a little bit wider.
