Young artist Priyanka Govil bats for a natural haven in her lED works. She chatted with Karan Bhardwaj
While growing up in natural habitat in a small town of Chandausi, near Muradabad, young artist Priyanka Govil was always disturbed by the increasing materialistic desires of human beings. As she moved to different locations for work and study, she was startled to see the man-made construction made over the green landscape. Her works, which have conical shapes inbuilt, say much more than what they appear. “If you look at the huts, or even the cowdung cakes made in the villages, they have conical shapes. So these shapes reflect rural side in my art,” she says.
Her works remind one of the blind birth of greed and its consequences. The artist uses red colour, may be to reflect the unending damage to the earth, as a background. One of her works have tree trunks with conical huts around it. “It is a tree’s house where it is standing. It is an inhuman act to displace somebody from the habitat. I think we fail to understand that trees are as important on earth as humans are. Those who are engaged in encroaching the green scape, are causing irreparable loss to the human race. Despite knowing all that, we are not stopping ourselves,” she says.
The 28-year-old is against the current development model, in which one cuts a tree and then places it somewhere else.
“We need to devise a model where nature can be inclusive of growth. Make green areas, fields and tress a part of the architecture. Why do you have to displace one thing to place the otherIJ” she asks.
Among over 18 works, there is a huge painting which has a panel of some 30 pieces. There are lED lights attached with each frame of 4.5X5.5 inches. “Each frame has daily objects which we are dependent on. The idea was to put objects and landscape together. One can see shadows when lights are on. Basically, we cannot survive without these objects now,” she says.