Dr Suryasnata Mohanty portrays the abstracts of city architecture and impressionist imagery of ancient temples that form vantage points of human realities
The knife work and occasional brush work on the background is what a viewer witnesses as they enter the exhibition — Submergence and Emergence: The Continuum of Structures and Being by Dr Suryasnata Mohanty at India Habitat Centre. It portrays the abstracts of city architecture and impressionist imagery of ancient temples that form vantage points of human realities.
The chronicles of this everlasting survival are quintessentially the tales of submerged beliefs, faith and struggles that may temporarily go beneath the visible. But they emerge, reappear and rebuild themselves over time. This forms the philosophy of artist Suryasnata’s works.
Vilay-the Impermanence is an abstract work of a partially submerged citadel with a flight of steps carved in dark brown. It leads to a ruined multi-storeyed monumental structure against a white and grey background. It symbolises the fate of all structures, material or non-material things, reiterating that nothing is permanent.
On the other side is Tales of Cities, an abstract work with a backdrop of earth-brown shades. It reasserts the continuity of civilisational existence that life continues in new shapes and no destruction is permanent.
“The origin and continuities of life is a complex narrative, which continues in cycles. Numerous vantage points that construct human reality merge, overlap and occasionally blur out in the paintings of Suryasnata Mohanty,” describes Avijna Bhattacharya, art curator.
Her upbringing in Bhubaneswar inspires her current works on surviving temples and continuities of faith.
Artist Shobha Broota also visited the exhibition and appreciated the subject and techniques Suryasnata uses to mix various colours and depict the complexities of the subject.
Swapna Drishti — A Journey in Dream is curious mix of colours with a blue background, which showcases ancient temples, depicting the vision of a lost city.
Another painting, Emergence in Submergence portrays a temple which is half submerged in water and half in sky, with a few stones at the corner.
The thread of moli shown as a rope to hang the temple bell in the painting — The Calling Bell — presents a unique thought and application of symbol, imagery and colour. “Bold treatment of colours and confident strokes bring out the maturity of Suryasnata’s works that are not only thoughtful but also a visual treat,” Broota remarked.
Sculptor and the current director general of National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), Adwait Gadanayak also viewed the works such as The Lone Hope and End is the Beginning. While the former has a silhouette of a temple placed against the evening sky, the latter is an abstract work depicting a curious blend of black, bluish-green brick walls along with a threaded loop of pathways.