The art of rejection

Innocence was conceived by Santanu Hazarika as a personal project for his brother and musician Partha Hazarika's EP, which stayed half-recorded

Between 1748 and 1890, the Paris Salon, an exhibition of the best academic art, was held annually. And for selected artists, this meant securing a reputation. However in 1863, the salon refused to exhibit more than half of the submitted works, a figure of over 2,000. In an effort to give the public the power of the jury, Emperor Napoleon III conceived the idea of a Salon des Refusés - an exhibition that showcases the works of the artists who were rejected - including painter Édouard Manet who now occupies a special place in the Impressionist movement and French textbooks. A few centuries later, closer home this evening, a similar exhibition will showcase not only the rejected works of 50 artists, but will also be held in a space of refusal.

Madhuvanthi Senthilkumar

Hosted by Design Fabric, Reject Exhibit is a four-day event that includes illustration, graphic art, photography and branding work by artists that include Alicia Souza, Shiva Nallaperumal and Nourie Flayhan, along with an exclusive performance by pop artiste Raghav Meattle on the opening night. In addition, the seond issue of the DF magazine will be sold, and attendees get to sip on some beer.

Santanu Hazarika

The process of curation, though, also involved some rejection, as Madhuvanthi Senthilkumar, partner at the organisation, tells us. "We received over 250 applications and that had to be narrowed down to 50. Artists and designers are always struggling with commercial briefs. And every option presented to the client has an equal amount of hard work put into it. We wanted to highlight that," she says, adding that even the space is pivotal to the theme. Design Fabric's studio is based in Lower Parel, but they'll soon be moving to Chembur. "The reasons many people have for moving are the real estate prices. But for us, the area just became intolerable and unsafe to operate out of. So in a way, we're saying no to the space," Senthilkumar explains.

An artwork by Nourie Flayhan. The Lebanese illustrator based in London is known for her female-centric illustrations and collaboration with Gucci

Each artist had to accompany their artworks with a concept note, revealing the stories behind the rejections. A particular email Senthilkumar received was just a one-liner. "I'm rejected everywhere," it read.

Jayanta Roy captures black-and-white images of unusual Indian landscapes against weathered backgrounds, such as the one below of a place in Kashmir

Kolkata-based photographer Jayanta Roy, 36, was the sender, but when asked about the theme, he views rejection as only a natural process. "It helps fine-tune my work and improve my storytelling," reveals Roy, who photographs unusual landscapes against weathered backgrounds, in black and white. But illustrator Santanu Hazarika from Delhi feels differently.

Jayanta Roy

"All my life, I've been the underdog. I was never appreciative of my art. With clients, there's often a lot of miscommunication and your work never meets their expectations, which defeats its true purpose. So with this event, the scope for us is widened," he says. And like the Salon des Refuses, the public is now the witness.

On: Tonight, 7 pm to 10 pm (opening night); September 26 to 30, 11 am to 6 pm
At: Design Fabric, Sun Mill Compound, Lower Parel.
Log on to: designfabric.in

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