Saturday, 4 August 2012

NO NET, ONLY GROSS

Exhibition The form of fish used as an allegory to have a dialogue with the viewers

 Amit Harit, a young emerging artist hailing from Rajasthan, who has held several exhibitions in different parts of the country, in his latest outing, curiously improvised on the form of fish on his canvases to project his thoughts and aspirations. Asked about it, the 26- year-old post graduate from the Rajasthan School of Art responds, “The fish symbolises man's desires and his aspirations to progress and attain a higher plane of mental and spiritual consciousness…so that's why I draw these fish in different forms to portray my own inner struggles and ideas about life.” He adds, that being from Rajasthan, a desert State, he also feels a cultural connection. “Through this marine creature I also wanted to counter pose the aridity of the land and the thirst it creates in the people.” Rendered in mixed media, like acrylic and pen or ink on canvas, the representations ranged across a variegated spectrum of emotions felt in different places, at different times, using gentle rhythmic lines, vibrant palette and intricate design patterns etched on the main subject matter of his work, the fish. 
The crumbling infrastructure and its impact on human lives, the eternal cycles of preservation and destruction, the hope for freedom when surrounded by encumbrances, conciliations despite differences are just some of the ideas which the artist tried to communicate through his art interweaving the leitmotif with other imagery like locks and spears. Amit's conception of a “transformation”, which he seeks to realise, does not ruthlessly severe the bonds with the old, “Progress and independence are important, but we have certain rich cultures and traditions which should be maintained in our character. Because only then the progress we make or independence we enjoy can have any real meaning.”

Siddharth Dasgupta

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