HIGH FIVE

Reading between the Lines | HEMA UPADHYAY

It is impossible at first to know what draws the crowds to Hema Upadhyay’s rice- scapes— two framed panels created with thousands of grains of rice. From a distance the works appear as a bland landscape with trails of ants zigzagging across. On closer inspection, best done by the magnifying glasses helpfully provided by the artist herself, words begin to slowly emerge. Text inscribed on grains of rice explores the themes of urbanisation, migration and changing landscapes. ‘I have been cut in two,’ says one trail. ‘I know what it’s like to be afraid of your own mind,’ says another. A man stops by the rice-scapes, wonders aloud, “What’s so special about this?”, then looks through the magnifying glass and says with awe, “That requires patience.”

Colour Banquet | ANU MALHOTRA

“There are no lines in nature, only areas of colour, one against another,” said impressionist painter Édouard Manet. In Anu Malhotra’s work, colour is both the medium and the message. She pours, spatters, sprays, blotches and layers her canvases with acrylic until they acquire a shape and form that is no longer two dimensional. You can read what you want in the splashes, or, as the artist says, just revel in the feel of all the colour.

The Shape of Things | KS RADHAKRISHNAN

Two years ago, before the opening of his exhibition in Gurgaon, KS Radhakrishnan expressed hope for the future of sculpture in the Indian art market. At the India Art Fair, he found vindication. ‘Liminal Figures Liminal Space’, a singular work made of many parts, with human figures densely packed on a ramp, was a pit stop for most visitors. They sat around it on cushions arranged on the floor, gazing up at it, taking photographs from different angles and sometimes through silence, finding their own ways to contextualise the work. The arresting show of sculptures has to be seen and experienced. The figures, signature creations by the artist, could be marching in a political procession or have less worldly concerns, as they ascend to another space.

Razor’s Edge | TAYEBA BEGUM LIPI

For Bangladeshi artist Tayeba Begum Lipi, stainless steel razor blades have long been her medium and her inspiration. Out of blades, Lipi has created the most unlikely objects—a bra sculpture and a bed, which she has shown at the Venice Biennale and the Guggenheim Museum. As she explores issues of gender, the blades become a symbol of many things, sometimes the pain and helplessness and sometimes the strength of being a woman in a patriarchal society. This time she chose to make a sewing machine out of razor blades, a reminder of the 2013 tragedy at a garment factory in Dhaka. For the artist, the statement is both personal and political.

Two Makers | CHITRA GANESH AND DHRUVI ACHARYA

People came and asked them the strangest things: “Are you art students, can we join you?” and “Will you please teach my daughter how to paint?” For most visitors at the Art Fair, the sight of two women dressed in identical clothes—blue jeans and black shirts—diligently painting through the day, was bemusing. How were they to know that Chitra Ganesh (from New York) and Dhruvi Acharya (from Mumbai), stars in the contemporary art world, had agreed to demystify the process of making art and work on a collaborative performance project? The final work, although a meditation on old age, sickness and mortality, inspired by ancient Tibetan medicinal drawings, was imbued with the wry humour and allegory that is common to both artists. “We’re exhausted but we loved this opportunity for interaction,” said Chitra, while Dhruvi nodded in agreement.

Anu MalhotraChitra GaneshDhruvi AcharyaHema UpadhyayKS RadhakrishnanTayeba Begum Lipi