A Mumbai group art exhibition will showcase different perspectives on nature

Rumour has it that a snow leopard an Asian elephant and a Royal Bengal tiger have all migrated to South Mumbai this morning Before you accuse us of orchestrating a wildlife escape or worse storytelling under the lingering influence of a long festive weekend letrsquos set the record straight The wild animals have indeed arrived in Nariman Point but only as muses in Wild Wonders an exhibition at Kamalnayan Bajaj Art Gallery dedicated to these majestic creatures in the wildBatik on canvas by Cuttackbased Sriharsha SuklaldquoEver since I took over the gallery as the director late last year I knew wildlife and nature had to find a place in these halls With the help of experts like Bittu Sahgal uncle and Anish Andheria I curated my first wildlife show in Decemberrdquo reveals Pooja Bajaj director of Kamalnayan Bajaj Art Gallery When World Wildlife Day arrived on March 3 it sparked the idea to reach out to budding artists this time she reveals The upcoming show features photographers and artists skilled in varied mediums and stylesAcrylic paint on paper by Daniel LuisldquoPainting wildlife allows me to capture the raw beauty strength and spirit of nature I want to highlight these emotions and how they connect us to the wildliferdquo says artist Om Thadkar whose charcoal artwork captures an elephantrsquos shiny ivory tusks Citybased artist Dipti Kumar shares this fascination for the largest land mammal ldquoTheyrsquore magnanimous imposing and equally fearless In many ways they taught me how to stand my ground in the face of challengesrdquo Kumar remarksMixed media on canvas by Ameya KulkarniFor photographer Rajeev Rai who has spent years photographing people and their complex emotions the wild provides an invaluable lesson ldquoWhile shooting in the wild you need to wait and hold for the right moment It has taught me the value of patiencerdquo he reveals Rai will be joined by artist Daniel Luis whose acrylic on paper work will bring to life the ferocious snow leopards a species classified as Vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature On the other hand Ameya Kulkarni and Vibha Agarwalrsquos artworks will explore the gentle side of the unforgiving jungle mdash a big cat playing with its cub and marvelling at a dainty butterfly respectivelyPooja BajajItrsquos hardly a secret that exhibiting your work at a SoBo gallery comes at a price Cuttackbased hearing and vocally impaired artist and art teacher Sriharsha Sukla knew it ldquoWhen we reached out to him with an invite he simply said lsquoIrsquom sorry but I cannot afford itrsquo Sukla practises the vibrant art form of Batik a dyeing technique that uses wax resistant dyerdquo Bajaj reveals A sponsorship from the gallery will ensure Suklarsquos work will find admirers in the cityA few passionate enthusiasts might believe that watching these creatures from the comfort of a gallery is a diluted experience mdash somewhat like watching a video of your favourite bandrsquos performance a day after the concert But what if the video sparked an interest you never knew you had or even pushed you to step out the next time an opportunity arose ldquoArt is merely a medium Therersquos a deeper message in there When school children stop by to reflect in front of these artworks or the average Mumbaikar revisits his relationship with the cityrsquos wildlife through these frames thatrsquos when my vision comes to fruitionrdquo Bajaj signs offOn Today 5 pm preview March 18 to 22 11 am to 7 pmAt Kamalnayan Bajaj Art Gallery Bajaj Bhavan Nariman Point