10 March,2011 09:52 AM IST | | Tulika Srivastava
Art curator Jenny Bhatt, through a kaleidoscope of satirical works, mocks at the absurdity of the urban consumer culture
With a credit card, even
beggars can ride. However, if we have to live for a month without plastic money, our mall visits will be reduced by half, we won't watch stupid films like Patiala House, and those pair of sandals would be changed every quarter, and not every month.
Now you must be wondering where we got all this gyaan from? Recently we attended the preview of Jenny Bhatt's exhibition that acquainted us with the bitter chocolates of consumerist society. We liked the works, and the idea. Read on for further dope.
Fun intended
In her 14th solo exhibition in India, the art curator has put on display a vibrant collection that amusingly critiques our present-day consumer culture. Centred on the theme 'Liberation through Consumption', the exhibition showcases the second series of Bhatt's MokshaShots. A MokshaShot, according to her, "is a taste of the sublime." It pokes fun at our modern consumer's psyche, which is that one can buy their way into acquiring fulfillment by purchasing more and more commodities.
Everything is for sale
Classified under pop surrealism, the series is marked by the use of acrylics on canvas and is inspired by the traditional Thangka paintings used by Tibetan monks during meditation and prayers. The farcical deity-like characters holding weapons of mass consumption add on to the ridiculousness of how brands create gods out of products. The exhibits lampoon an entire culture in which the consumer commodifies everything he consumes -- art, emotions, spirituality and commodities -- to get satisfaction. The collection is witty and eye-catching. So how does the audience respond to a genre such as pop surrealism making its way onto the Indian art
scenario? "Things have been changing. We are living in exciting times where audiences understand the plurality of different genres of art rather than creating a mental hierarchy for them. The best thing about experimentation is that it broadens our viewers' horizons."
What else?
Besides the art works, Bhatt is also be exhibiting an interactive video, which is on the same lines as the paintings. She is now in the process of extending this series to different forms of aesthetic practice such as a graphic novel, art objects, interactive media, etc. Take your wife along, it might deepen your pocket from next month.
On till: April 4
At: Seven Art Limited Gallery,
M 44/2 (Souterrain) GK II, Below Ruby Tuesday's
Timings: 11 am to 7 pm (Monday to Saturday)
