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Signals: Where the Taj Mahal meets symbolism
Back to Section Stories Posted On Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Mithila Mehta
A miniature Taj Mahal, a crouching tiger, an amorous couple, The Statue of Liberty, a lone dabbawala, and several traffic signals. What do these objects have in common? Well, these unlikely and unrelated articles are in fact bound by the brushstrokes of Baroda-based contemporary artist Nirmala Biluka. She is hosting her first solo art exhibition, titled ‘Signals,’ at Studio Napean Art Gallery. The show will run till November 22.
Biluka’s abstraction and surrealism is a welcome change from the prevailing artistic trend of photo-realism. Set in the realm of a modern metropolis, her canvases abound in ubiquitous everyday objects, rendered aesthetically. The composition forms an integral part of her creation process. “My paintings are such that the concept of space is not defined,” explains Biluka.
Nirmala Biluka’s works may seem rather mystifying initially, but on closer examination, their stories unravel much more.
Symbolism unscrambled
“Biluka’s paintings remind me of free verse poetry - complex, scattered, where unrelated metaphors and similes come together,” observes art critic Sandhya Bordwekar.
Indeed, Biluka’s works abound in visual imagery. Deconstructing a painting like ‘Good morning, Baroda’ throws up the image of a leopard resting on a bed - an ironic depiction of the recent spate of wild animals entering human settlements. Alongside, the flashy car merged with the Statue of Liberty represents the American dream that so many Indians are chasing.
‘Red Mumbai’ is a painting with a voice of its own. This hard-hitting blood red canvas was an emotional response to the terrorist attacks that have been targeting the city. “The train and the Gateway of India indicate the sites of the terrorist attack, whilst the lone man, slumped over, is symbolic of the vulnerability of the average Mumbaikar,” explains Biluka. The clock in the corner shows the exact time when the last bomb blast occurred - This painting that truly showcases the artist’s genius as a storyteller.
The ‘intelligent’ audience
Biluka admits that her paintings may have multiple interpretations. However, the ambiguity is a deliberate move by the artist to create open-ended artworks. “I give the viewer hints and leads, but it is their prerogative to piece the entire puzzle together!” laughs the artist.
Biluka’s paintings cater to the intelligent viewer — someone with the ability to think critically, and respond to intellectual challenge put forth by her. “This major interpretation role given to viewers like me is most engaging!” exclaims gallery visitor Sonika Purandare.
Universal yet personal
Despite the presence of rather commonplace objects, Biluka’s paintings reflect a personal journey. The artist herself is the central character of many canvases - “Self imagery is a regular feature,” she admits. Also, Biluka’s art is based on her own observations and daily experiences. “As a detached onlooker, she plays the role of an observer witness, faithfully recording what she sees,” notes Bordewekar.
What’s next?
Her first solo art show already underway, what does the future hold for this talented artist? “I would like to concentrate on exploring different avenues in art, or perhaps do works based on the connotations attached to a single object,” she mulls. “Either way, I have many good works ahead of me.”
Truly, this is not the last time the art community will be hearing from Nirmala Biluka.
(Pix: Mithila Mehta
Nirmala Prabhakar’s paintings remind one of free verse poetry – complex, scattered, sometimes unrelated metaphors and similes signaling messages that finally come together on a second or third reading. Therefore, at first viewing, the paintings appear to be a bunch of disparate images, mostly figurative, housed in different parts of the canvas that do not really have much to do with one another. One can only ‘read’ them together and understand the story they are weaving once one delves deeper into what the artist is trying to say.
The paintings largely chart a personal journey in which the artist herself is the central character. Clad in exercising tights, as she calmly executes yogic postures unmindful of the often dramatic, sometimes absurd goings-on around her, she also takes on the persona of the traffic policewoman as her arms swivel and rotate, the yogic mudra-s transforming themselves into the more mundane hand signals of a policeman directing traffic at busy crossroads, trying to control the activities around but not with much success. As a detached onlooker, she plays the role of an observer-witness, faithfully recording what she sees.
If read as a ‘journey’, the ‘road’ itself is a complex image here as it spreads and winds around the canvas, with the other images registering ‘milestones’ that could gesture towards real, imagined or dreamt of events. The plethora of animal images, for instance, is echoes of childhood travels to forests and zoos along with the artist’s wildlife photographer father. But these images often get a surrealistic twist to them – the tiger sprawled on the sofa, drinking milk out of a bottle, the roosters on the bed and so on. On a lighter note, perhaps, it is also an ironical comment on the numerous, uncontrolled stray animals blocking and getting in the way of the traffic on the city streets!
At another level, the paintings move beyond the personal to make a socio-political comment. In the work titled, “Red Mumbai”, the blood-red paint that spreads across the canvas points to the series of terrorist attacks that the city was subjected to, the train indicating its most vulnerable target, the single man (very much in the garb of the famous Mumbai dabbawala) waiting hopelessly on the bench on the railway platform for a friend or a family member who will never show up alive. Like a good puzzle-setter, Nirmala takes care of the various visual ‘clues’ too – the clock shows the exact time when the last train blast happened. In “Good morning, Baroda”, the lazy dream of a daily ‘bed-tea’ is symbolized in the winged yoga practitioner descending with the steaming kettle, the leopard on the bed gesturing towards news reports of these wild cats quietly entering urban settlements, while the fusing of the flashy car with the Statue of Liberty stands for the often inexplicable desire of the locals to get to the land of dreams any which way.
A painting like “Honeymoon Package” is however simpler to read –the amorous couple, the bed and a smattering of popular ‘tourist’ destinations for a honeymoon that includes the historical (Taj Mahal), the religious (the Buddha), and wildlife. Or, in “My new Dwelling”, images of domestication reinforce the romantic notions of setting up a conjugal home.
This is Nirmala’s first solo show and “Signals” adequately positions her as one of the promising young artists on the contemporary Indian art scene. Her visual language has developed a maturity that when further strengthened is likely to stand the artist in very good stead. The fact that she has not gone the way of the photo-realistic mode of figurative painting that had become very popular in Baroda in the last few years, but has struggled hard to look for an individual idiom and diligently walk the path she has thus chosen signals to a future that is full of promise and hope, albeit hard work.
Sandhya Bordewekar
Baroda, October 2007
Signals: Where the Taj Mahal meets symbolism
Back to Section Stories Posted On Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Mithila Mehta
A miniature Taj Mahal, a crouching tiger, an amorous couple, The Statue of Liberty, a lone dabbawala, and several traffic signals. What do these objects have in common? Well, these unlikely and unrelated articles are in fact bound by the brushstrokes of Baroda-based contemporary artist Nirmala Biluka. She is hosting her first solo art exhibition, titled ‘Signals,’ at Studio Napean Art Gallery. The show will run till November 22.
Biluka’s abstraction and surrealism is a welcome change from the prevailing artistic trend of photo-realism. Set in the realm of a modern metropolis, her canvases abound in ubiquitous everyday objects, rendered aesthetically. The composition forms an integral part of her creation process. “My paintings are such that the concept of space is not defined,” explains Biluka.
Nirmala Biluka’s works may seem rather mystifying initially, but on closer examination, their stories unravel much more.
Symbolism unscrambled
“Biluka’s paintings remind me of free verse poetry - complex, scattered, where unrelated metaphors and similes come together,” observes art critic Sandhya Bordwekar.
Indeed, Biluka’s works abound in visual imagery. Deconstructing a painting like ‘Good morning, Baroda’ throws up the image of a leopard resting on a bed - an ironic depiction of the recent spate of wild animals entering human settlements. Alongside, the flashy car merged with the Statue of Liberty represents the American dream that so many Indians are chasing.
‘Red Mumbai’ is a painting with a voice of its own. This hard-hitting blood red canvas was an emotional response to the terrorist attacks that have been targeting the city. “The train and the Gateway of India indicate the sites of the terrorist attack, whilst the lone man, slumped over, is symbolic of the vulnerability of the average Mumbaikar,” explains Biluka. The clock in the corner shows the exact time when the last bomb blast occurred - This painting that truly showcases the artist’s genius as a storyteller.
The ‘intelligent’ audience
Biluka admits that her paintings may have multiple interpretations. However, the ambiguity is a deliberate move by the artist to create open-ended artworks. “I give the viewer hints and leads, but it is their prerogative to piece the entire puzzle together!” laughs the artist.
Biluka’s paintings cater to the intelligent viewer — someone with the ability to think critically, and respond to intellectual challenge put forth by her. “This major interpretation role given to viewers like me is most engaging!” exclaims gallery visitor Sonika Purandare.
Universal yet personal
Despite the presence of rather commonplace objects, Biluka’s paintings reflect a personal journey. The artist herself is the central character of many canvases - “Self imagery is a regular feature,” she admits. Also, Biluka’s art is based on her own observations and daily experiences. “As a detached onlooker, she plays the role of an observer witness, faithfully recording what she sees,” notes Bordewekar.
What’s next?
Her first solo art show already underway, what does the future hold for this talented artist? “I would like to concentrate on exploring different avenues in art, or perhaps do works based on the connotations attached to a single object,” she mulls. “Either way, I have many good works ahead of me.”
Truly, this is not the last time the art community will be hearing from Nirmala Biluka.
(Pix: Mithila Mehta
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nirmala Prabhakar’s paintings remind one of free verse poetry – complex, scattered, sometimes unrelated metaphors and similes signaling messages that finally come together on a second or third reading. Therefore, at first viewing, the paintings appear to be a bunch of disparate images, mostly figurative, housed in different parts of the canvas that do not really have much to do with one another. One can only ‘read’ them together and understand the story they are weaving once one delves deeper into what the artist is trying to say.
The paintings largely chart a personal journey in which the artist herself is the central character. Clad in exercising tights, as she calmly executes yogic postures unmindful of the often dramatic, sometimes absurd goings-on around her, she also takes on the persona of the traffic policewoman as her arms swivel and rotate, the yogic mudra-s transforming themselves into the more mundane hand signals of a policeman directing traffic at busy crossroads, trying to control the activities around but not with much success. As a detached onlooker, she plays the role of an observer-witness, faithfully recording what she sees.
If read as a ‘journey’, the ‘road’ itself is a complex image here as it spreads and winds around the canvas, with the other images registering ‘milestones’ that could gesture towards real, imagined or dreamt of events. The plethora of animal images, for instance, is echoes of childhood travels to forests and zoos along with the artist’s wildlife photographer father. But these images often get a surrealistic twist to them – the tiger sprawled on the sofa, drinking milk out of a bottle, the roosters on the bed and so on. On a lighter note, perhaps, it is also an ironical comment on the numerous, uncontrolled stray animals blocking and getting in the way of the traffic on the city streets!
At another level, the paintings move beyond the personal to make a socio-political comment. In the work titled, “Red Mumbai”, the blood-red paint that spreads across the canvas points to the series of terrorist attacks that the city was subjected to, the train indicating its most vulnerable target, the single man (very much in the garb of the famous Mumbai dabbawala) waiting hopelessly on the bench on the railway platform for a friend or a family member who will never show up alive. Like a good puzzle-setter, Nirmala takes care of the various visual ‘clues’ too – the clock shows the exact time when the last train blast happened. In “Good morning, Baroda”, the lazy dream of a daily ‘bed-tea’ is symbolized in the winged yoga practitioner descending with the steaming kettle, the leopard on the bed gesturing towards news reports of these wild cats quietly entering urban settlements, while the fusing of the flashy car with the Statue of Liberty stands for the often inexplicable desire of the locals to get to the land of dreams any which way.
A painting like “Honeymoon Package” is however simpler to read –the amorous couple, the bed and a smattering of popular ‘tourist’ destinations for a honeymoon that includes the historical (Taj Mahal), the religious (the Buddha), and wildlife. Or, in “My new Dwelling”, images of domestication reinforce the romantic notions of setting up a conjugal home.
This is Nirmala’s first solo show and “Signals” adequately positions her as one of the promising young artists on the contemporary Indian art scene. Her visual language has developed a maturity that when further strengthened is likely to stand the artist in very good stead. The fact that she has not gone the way of the photo-realistic mode of figurative painting that had become very popular in Baroda in the last few years, but has struggled hard to look for an individual idiom and diligently walk the path she has thus chosen signals to a future that is full of promise and hope, albeit hard work.
Sandhya Bordewekar
Baroda, October 2007
articles
http://www.mattersofart.com/Artistofm.html
Signals that you can't missBaroda-based artist Nirmala Biluka will be exhibiting her recent works titled Signals at Gallery Studio Napean, 17-18 Matru Ashish, Near Napean Sea Road, Mumbai from November 7 –22, 2007. Anand Gadappa takes a look at the artist's works and finds that her paintings are multifaceted, with incongruent images juxtaposed in different parts of the canvas that do not really have much to do with one another yet each image is evocative in itself.
We are at the juncture of multicultural complexities, where the ‘praxis' of art is understood as not only an ideological expression but also regarded as highly validated liberal/activist communication addressing a wide range of cultural nuances. For Nirmala Biluka, an emerging artist from Baroda , ‘painting' is a medium through which she can express her inquisitiveness of global culture as well as the're orientation' of popular images and their ‘implied' meaning. She certainly has attempted to amalgamate fantasy as her personal choice and predilection for femininity metaphorically. Consequently, Her paintings are multifaceted, with incongruent images juxtaposed in different parts of the canvas that do not really have much to do with one another yet each image is evocative in itself.In fact, ‘Image' is the most significant ingredient in her works of art as she brings into play it as a ‘unique signifier' that generates multiple meanings. “In today's Post-Modern art praxis, ‘images' or ‘objects of curiosity' become easily accessible at click of a button. Artists are incorporating/appropriating ‘readymade images' (as I would like to call them) for their visual arena that often perplexed me” reveals Nirmala. Nevertheless, as an upcoming artist, for Nirmala there was a constant and innocent urge to follow ‘the trend' or rather to ‘contemporize' her own visual vocabulary. That is when she realized the power of an ‘image'. In this investigation, she often employs unconnected images of objects around her, as the chosen language is typically figurative. However, the real excitement ushers in when each object or image is related to another in order to construct humor or punnery and bewilderness symbolizing current cultural conditions.The female protagonist, narcissistically replicating her ‘self' in unusual costumes akin to sports attire, remains central in the “trance temporal space.” Sometimes playing around casually, or as a traffic police signaling events to happen according to her will, or is simply meditating. She becomes a performer as well as an observer/witness; watching/policing things happening around with a vague attempt to control or direct them. One can read the ‘road', where the central character is placed, as a ‘journey', as it extends around the canvas, with the other images suggesting towards real, sometimes subconscious events. The surplus of animal images, at times representing sexuality are nostalgic of travels to wild life sanctuaries along with the artist's father, who is a wildlife photographer.The ‘images' around her now do not remain hushed but start narrating and weaving stories; not necessarily sensible and comprehensive. They become ‘floating signifiers' or ‘ever-changing signals' and ‘metaphors' of the hidden consciousness.‘Signals' is going to be her first solo show of her paintings to be mounted at gallery Studio Napean, near Napean sea road, Mumbai from November 7 –22, 2007. The recent paintings exemplify that Nirmala chooses naturalistic figurative idiom in a vibrant palette is a very personal approach that comes as a fresh breath of air.
Signals that you can't missBaroda-based artist Nirmala Biluka will be exhibiting her recent works titled Signals at Gallery Studio Napean, 17-18 Matru Ashish, Near Napean Sea Road, Mumbai from November 7 –22, 2007. Anand Gadappa takes a look at the artist's works and finds that her paintings are multifaceted, with incongruent images juxtaposed in different parts of the canvas that do not really have much to do with one another yet each image is evocative in itself.
We are at the juncture of multicultural complexities, where the ‘praxis' of art is understood as not only an ideological expression but also regarded as highly validated liberal/activist communication addressing a wide range of cultural nuances. For Nirmala Biluka, an emerging artist from Baroda , ‘painting' is a medium through which she can express her inquisitiveness of global culture as well as the're orientation' of popular images and their ‘implied' meaning. She certainly has attempted to amalgamate fantasy as her personal choice and predilection for femininity metaphorically. Consequently, Her paintings are multifaceted, with incongruent images juxtaposed in different parts of the canvas that do not really have much to do with one another yet each image is evocative in itself.In fact, ‘Image' is the most significant ingredient in her works of art as she brings into play it as a ‘unique signifier' that generates multiple meanings. “In today's Post-Modern art praxis, ‘images' or ‘objects of curiosity' become easily accessible at click of a button. Artists are incorporating/appropriating ‘readymade images' (as I would like to call them) for their visual arena that often perplexed me” reveals Nirmala. Nevertheless, as an upcoming artist, for Nirmala there was a constant and innocent urge to follow ‘the trend' or rather to ‘contemporize' her own visual vocabulary. That is when she realized the power of an ‘image'. In this investigation, she often employs unconnected images of objects around her, as the chosen language is typically figurative. However, the real excitement ushers in when each object or image is related to another in order to construct humor or punnery and bewilderness symbolizing current cultural conditions.The female protagonist, narcissistically replicating her ‘self' in unusual costumes akin to sports attire, remains central in the “trance temporal space.” Sometimes playing around casually, or as a traffic police signaling events to happen according to her will, or is simply meditating. She becomes a performer as well as an observer/witness; watching/policing things happening around with a vague attempt to control or direct them. One can read the ‘road', where the central character is placed, as a ‘journey', as it extends around the canvas, with the other images suggesting towards real, sometimes subconscious events. The surplus of animal images, at times representing sexuality are nostalgic of travels to wild life sanctuaries along with the artist's father, who is a wildlife photographer.The ‘images' around her now do not remain hushed but start narrating and weaving stories; not necessarily sensible and comprehensive. They become ‘floating signifiers' or ‘ever-changing signals' and ‘metaphors' of the hidden consciousness.‘Signals' is going to be her first solo show of her paintings to be mounted at gallery Studio Napean, near Napean sea road, Mumbai from November 7 –22, 2007. The recent paintings exemplify that Nirmala chooses naturalistic figurative idiom in a vibrant palette is a very personal approach that comes as a fresh breath of air.
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