Artisera’s Myth, Memory, Meaning takes viewers beyond the canvas

Myth, Memory, Meaning showcases the works of four contemporary women artists — Ashu Gupta, Rakhee Shenoy, Smruthi Gargi Eswar, and Sukanya Garg. Much like the artists themselves, each of the works on display encapsulates a different style of creative expression.

The media employed by these artists include the use of thread, gold leaf and paper as well as acrylic to design works that bid viewers to look deeper into each piece.

While it may seem unusual, Delhi-based artist Sukanya Garg says the inspiration for her work with gold leaf, stemmed from herself. “I’ve had an auto immune condition for quite a while now and once when I was sick, I started drawing cells. I suppose it was a subconscious action — I would draw a circle with a dot much like a symbolic cell. Initially, the act of repetition was a distraction and calmed me; later, I began to create other works building on this style.”

This was almost a decade ago and over the years of exploring alternative practices to ease her condition, Sukanya came across Kambo, a folk healing method practised by a few communities in the Amazon that include cauterisation to specific points of the body in an attempt to purge it of toxins.

Her present work on display at Artisera are reminiscent of this method — crafted on paper and using gold pens and gold leaf, a medium she began using around three years ago. The exhibition show cases around 19 pieces by Sukanya, a former economist with no exposure to the art field prior to her illness.

Bengaluru-based Smriti Gargi Eswar is well known for her series titled Sister Misfortune on goddesses, and though the works on display at Myth, Memory, Meaning also revolve around mythology, the artist says they are a part of her new series The Centre is Everywhere.

The Journey by Smriti Gargi Eswar on display at Myth, Memory, Meaning
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

“These are based on the concept of how geometrical shapes essentially converge to a centre,” says Smriti. “In Cosmology, there is no centre to the universe — everything is central to itself. Similarly in mythology, there is no central God but many heroes, many points of reference. It is not monotheistic, and I wanted to bring to light hidden mythologies from the Indian epics.”

Though she has worked with various media in the past, especially graphic art, Smriti has used acrylic on canvas to juxtapose fabled creatures and places exist with geometric shapes and lines.

Myth, Memory, Meaning will be on view at Artisera till August 16. Entry free on all days; on Sundays by appointment.