Uma Nair explores JAYASRI BURMAN’s River of Faith displayed at Bikaner House and says the artist has reflected on colours and lines that have independent symbolic meanings, presenting a spiritual flow of imagery
Going beyond the river Ganga travelling multiple worlds, Jayasri Burman’s River of Faith opening at Bikaner House on December 12 is the stuff of Indian folk art made contemporary and the beauty of historical and personal experiences. For more than 30 years, she has captured the alchemy of mythology, literature, nature and fiction in her works to weave into the landscape of nature a feast for the senses.The monumental canvasses at Bikaner House are a treat for the senses, they are born of and from the many lives of the river Ganga. The riverine ripples and punctuations of her monumental canvasses enchant you as you flit and float in the clouds of memoir in the tapestry of time. Burman, the traveller, transcends the capsule of time past and time present in this choreography where animals and birds and flora and fauna and women who are gorgeous in tone and tenor live through facets of fantasy.
“As an artist and humanist moved by the extreme desecration and pollution of the sacred waters of Ganges, she has presented a vibrant ensemble of creations in her show, River of Faith that questions, arouses, sensitises and soothes, calling the audience attention to the river as a life force that instills strength, hope and spirit of preservation albeit the upheavals that frequent it. As the world awaits to rediscover normalcy and happiness leaving behind the sadness and shadows of the last two years, the River of Faith would be a beautiful tribute to the river and serve to gently remind us about restoring balance and tranquility in our lives and repose our faith in nature and its powers,” states, Somak Mitra, director, Art Exposure.
“If I could paint sound, I would try and capture the mystical notes of the Ganga. But how does one express the many facets of the mighty river — its tranquility, wilderness, movement and immortality. Ganga is how I attempt to compose the balance between its fluidity and the rootedness of faith it evokes. Over 2020 and 2021's pandemic gloom, I have witnessed the abuse faced by Ganga on multiple occasions. Through my work, I wish to spread the message that it's a circle we all inhabit, and only if we nurture nature and not make her suffer, will humanity be able to live harmoniously”, shares Burman.
The Ganga covers a whopping 2,525 kilometers of length that begins in western Himalayas and continues through the Gangetic plains into Bangladesh and then the Bay of Bengal; this show travels through shores and banks to create a prismatic array of images that dwell on the feminine form as much as it brings back into memory the magic of modernism at its zestful best.
Blend of chromatic medleys
In a masterpiece of chromatic indices, Nandini is a stand alone work through which Burman constructs a pictorial space — a muralist melange of still lifes and landscape-adhering to original principles of presenting narratives running through the river of time. The contours, colour conceptions are distinctly Indian, rooted in literature and mythological aesthetics, even as the spatial structuring borrows from Indian classics. The monochromatic medley signifies the gorgeousness of the Kamadhenu like cow with Nandini sitting in verve and gracious vitality. The little ducks and hybrid humans all form a conversation that meanders in gracious harmony through the tide of time.
Then there is Jahnavi, a magnificent 36 feet in two diptychs coinciding with constructivist ideas and theoretical discussions on the expressive power of monochromatic moods and moorings created with dense charcoal in thicker passionate contours of controlled compositional spaces. From the beginning of her genesis, Burman has reflected on colours and lines that have independent symbolic meanings, presenting a spiritual flow of imagery.
The show has plenty to ponder; the set of 29 drawings of Hrishikesh are a raise’s delight.The lines devour the litheness of life the goats being the best with their beautiful expressive eyes and horns.Bikaner House has bounced back with verve and vivacity after the pandemic and we are looking at a festive winter.
(The Exhibition will be on view from December 12-19, 2021 at Bikaner House, Centre for Contemporary Arts(CCA) and Ground Floor Art Gallery (Main Building); New Delhi.)