Helmetman and donkey in tiger robes

Two exhibitions will bring out works of different kinds for the discerning audience

A DONKEY in tiger's skin, Mayawati at her moneyed best, Helmetman witnessing a murderu00a0-- these are some of the works which will be on display at the Capital's art galleries this month.


Summer Happening 2 by Jagannath Panda

While one exhibitionu00a0-- the Pao Collectiveu00a0-- will showcase works by graphic novelists, another will be a tad serious and will deal with the dualities of modern India. While this is only a preview, the exhibition will be on at London's Grosvenor Vadehra gallery.

Titled Indian (Sub)Way, the exhibition will showcase 30 works by 18 artists in varied mediums. "The exhibition deals with existing in the India of the present which has glaring contradictions. On one hand there are glitzy malls and on the other there are large areas where people starve," says curator and art critic Yashodhara Dalmia. "We have chosen artists who have done serious work over a long period. They engage with the environment and critique it but are not negative," she adds.

The Pao Collective, on the other hand, is the first such collective of graphic novelists happening in India with established names like Sarnath Banerjee and Orijit Sen. "They are working to show that graphic novels is an important art form," says curator Avinash Kumar.

Here's taking a closer look at what you will get to see:

Kya Pao
What happens when a group of graphic novelists come together? A conversationu00a0-- but of courseu00a0-- not verbally but on canvas. So while one artist starts the thread of the conversation, others simply add to it.

That's what graphic novelist Sarnath Banerjee has done for this exhibition. He has drawn a table with five people sitting around it to represent the creator sitting with the creation which would be on the plate and whatever is going on in his mind. There is a visual conversation going on. This is a series of interactive drawings on a 8ft x 6ft canvas. "Since it is being displayed at a caf ufffd, I thought something performance-based like this would work," says Banerjee.u00a0

Amitabh Kumar will be displaying five pieces from his upcoming comic The Messiah. It is the story of Helmetman who is witness to a murder. While he is travelling in an auto, he sees three children. Initially he thinks they are playing but when he approaches them he sees they are actually mugging and murdering an old man. "What's scary is that life around them goes on very normally, oblivious to the murder," says Kumar. The idea germinates from the author's own experience. "I had witnessed the incident in Burari in north Delhi a year back. The piece is an anthology of fear," he says.

Other graphic novelists whose works will be displayed are Orijit Sen, Parismita Singh and Vishwajyoti Ghosh. The show brings together 38 works that present stories on the urban and the political view of contemporary Indian culture.

Taking a sub, way
One interesting work here is Anita Dube's Subh Labh. It is a digital work showing Mayawati wearing the Rs 1,000 note garland. Over that is an inscription in wax that says 'subh labh'. "It is ironical because it might bring luck to her but to nobody else," says curator Dalmia.

G.R. Iranna will be exhibiting a sculpture titled Wounded Tool. It is a sculpture of a life-size donkey which wears a tiger skin and holds tools wrapped in bandage. It is symbolic of how an innocent man becomes powerful when he gets weapons. "The message is that rich nations sell outdated weapons to poor countries and create a situation of war so that they can sell their stuff," says Iranna. Other artists include Ravinder Reddy, Jagannath Panda, Riyas Komu and TV Santhosh among others.

The Pao Collective
Where: Mocha Arthouse, DLF Promenade Mall, Vasant Kunj
On till: August 23
Timings: 11 am to midnight

The Indian Sub (Way)
Where: Vadehra Art Gallery, D-40, Defence Colony
When: August 20 to 31
Timings: 11 am to 7pm