Womanhood is at the core of, A life in Pictures, a solo exhibition by the celebrated Jiten Hazarika. By Saritha Saraswathy Balan
Be it the two lip-locking women, the two holding each other’s hands or the one holding a child on her lap, women in Jiten Hazarika’s paintings move freely. There are no emotions in their eyes, but alone or together, they dare to walk on. With eyes glued to the surroundings, they are passionate and celebrate solitude as well.
Women are portrayed in all the 29 paintings inA life in Pictures at Shridharani Gallery, Triveni Kala Sangam. We notice that men are sketched only as a partner. We ask him about his philosophy. “I want to depict soft and delicate feelings for which women make better subjects. Through a woman, I can express myself better”, he says.
“The man is depicted as a woman’s companion, the one who escorts. There is everything in a woman, motherhood, and companionship. Women are intellectually, mentally and emotionally strong. But they need men sometimes, not to guide them, but to escort”, he says. “And what is the need to separate men and women. Some amount of eroticism should be there for an artist”, says Hazarika, who calls himself an exponent of figurative abstracts.
Asked why are all the women in his works from villages, the 80-year-old maestro says, “Rural people are more simple, colourful and artistic whereas the cityfolk are stereotyped. One can see no variety in their style.”
“I paint something concrete but colourful,” Hazarika continues. As for his women subjects immersed in solitude, he reveals, “Solitude is the highest state. The most commanding works can be produced in solitude.”
Besides, solitude always has another perspective. “A circle would just be a zero for a Maths student. It would be a potato or an egg for someone else, but for an artist it could be the symbol of a new beginning or progress”, he elaborates. Hazarika, known for being philosophical and spiritual, recites a Sanskrit verse to ascertain his notion about what an artist should be. “He should be well read, should have no vanity, should possess an absolutely pure mind, have knowledge about religion and be far away from envy”, the artist says, explaining the meaning of the verse.
“One has to know the inner feelings. Unless and until you know the inner system, called spirituality, the art in you will never be complete. It should be naturally connected”, Hazarika adds.
Being so spiritual, he can’t but meditate. “Painting itself is a form of meditation. When I paint, I get totally lost in myself, away from the outer world. Then, I don’t care whether the fan in my room works or not. It is an intense form of meditation”, he says.
A life in Pictures is Hazarika’s 26th solo exhibition and he feels fortunate to have been born in a village in Assam which naturally fed his fascination with nature. “There were rivers, flowers and exemplary landscapes, all of which are artistic. If I was born in a city like Delhi, I would not have been enthralled by anything”, he adds.
The exhibition curated by Anindya Kanti Biswas will conclude on September 5.