Childhood memories inspire three artists to paint vivid images of Eastern India. Karan Bhardwaj reports
The 31-year-old artist Deenabandhu Marndi is working in Delhi for last seven years. He settled here after completing BFA in painting from the Government of College of Arts and Craft, Odisha. However, he continues to draw inspiration from his native village Apanopi and Santal community as reflected in his five works, which will be displayed at Convention Foyer, India Habitat Centre from June 28.
The exhibition titled Strokes from the East, by The Kolorbox, brings together 15 works of three young artists from the Eastern India.
Among them, Marndi’s five artworks celebrate the lifestyle of Santal tribe. “I am highly inspired by the vibrant life and culture of my community. The colourful life of Santals has motivated many in the past,” said the artist. However, he feels the tribe, which is mainly scattered in areas of Jharkhand, West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha and Assam, has been neglected. “They are largely marginalised. Thankfully, they are getting some jobs now in government sectors — as railway carpenters and electricians,” he said. Marndi also shared one interesting facet of the tribal people.
“There is a superstition regarding the mirror. If you get to look into the broken mirror, then your life can get in danger. It can be reduced significantly.” The artist belongs to a farmer’s family and his father wanted him to become a doctor. “He wanted me to pursue a professional life but I always wanted to become an artist. He was not happy when I would draw sketches in childhood.”
The other participating artist hails from Assam and has been part of many group shows in and around India. Sandeep Jigdung is counted as one of the contemporary faces of art in the North East. In this exhibition, his vivid and dominating greens on the canvas are a “tribute” to his vision and impression of his birthplace.
“I was born in Karbianglong. Though I am settled in Delhi for years, I cannot forget my childhood spent in the green landscapes of Assam. Delhi is very congested and never fails to frustrate me to the point that I revisit the nature through canvas. Bamboos, trees, fruits, rocks, all kinds of flaura and fauna motivate me,” he told us. The 35-year-old artist used to hunt in his village.“There is a nostalgia attached to each of my work,” he said. Post this exhibition, Jigdung is preparing for United Art Fair.
Dilip Oinam from Manipur is a BFA graduate in Painting from the College of Art, Delhi.He is known for his larger-than-life solitary figures, mostly of children or woman. “Mostly my colour palette is earthy, bold reds and coppery browns which help me lending shape and form to larger than life figures,” he said. A solitary female figure stolidly holding ground can be seen as a favoured form in most of his works. The silent staring figures seem to invite as much as dissuade gazes.