A new exhibition reflects on today’s ‘chaotic and disrupted world’

A new art exhibition by Ranjan Kaul captures today's 'discordant, chaotic and disrupted world' through use of use allegory, magic realism, metaphor, symbols, poetry, mythology, fantasy; Main to raste se ja raha tha Dalits face socio-cultural taboos, especially in the rural areas – grooms are disallowed from riding a horse, men and women are not permitted to wear precious jewellery, use an umbrella, drink water from common facilities, or own a piece of land. (Source: PR Handout)

Titled Within, Without, the exhibition relects on the condition of women and children, self-interest, and the plight of the oppressed and marginalised; Hope confronts Anarchy Loosely inspired by Shelley’s poem, Masque of Anarchy, wherein the poetic imagery is juxtaposed with imagined scenes from contemporary times. (Source: PR Handout)

The press statment noted that rather than creating a mood of despondency and despair, the works give a glimpse of hope and harmony, of a world brimming with love and romance, music and dance; Fraud (Source: PR Handout)

The exhibition is at Urban Fringe, the underground studio, Okhla Phase 1 from April 12 to 22, 2024; Dissolving the teratoid society Is inspired by Mary Shelley’s classic novel Frankenstein and the mythical beast Cerberus with three dog-heads. (Source: PR Handout)

Some of the paintings depict narratives around the wider socio-cultural landscape which include a series of five paintings loosely inspired by Shelley’s poem, Masque of Anarchy, wherein the poetic imagery is juxtaposed with imagined scenes from current times, noted the press statement; Disrupted 3 The artist’s “Disrupted” series expresses the trauma that women as also men go through, faced with the strains of living in a harsh and at times an antagonist society that is often unaccepting of the choices they make. (Source: PR Handout)

Another two satirical works, the statement noted, depict the growing obsession with the self, of makeovers, body-shaping and selfies, while another is a tongue-in-cheek image of a cocktail party; Deal of the Day In July 2021 an online app, “Sulli Deals”, containing photos and personal information of about 100 Muslim women surfaced and went viral, where the pictures were described as “deal of the day”. The app was taken down and the creator later arrested in 2022. (Source: PR Handout)

"The primary focus of this show is to give imaginative articulation to what I believe are the disruptive and disquieting conditions we are living in. These works are a reimagined umwelt of our times in which I use a range of devices and visual languages – from mythology and literary references to flora symbolism and human-animal hybrid characters," said Kaul in the statement; Daydreams Dalits continue to be oppressed and discriminated against, a large majority of who are compelled to remain in their professions such as cobblers and sweepers doing menial, hazardous jobs such as manual scavenging despite it being declared illegal. In this work, the artist tries to focus on the dreams the dalits see in contrast to their work realities i.e, reel life vs real life (Source: PR Handout)

He further added, “I have explored a variety of styles, treatments, and choices of medium in consonance with my shifting thematic – from heavy, textured layers of acrylic using the palette knife, watercolour, mixed media, to working with thick brushstrokes using oil. I find sticking to a particular style or theme rather constricting. I thus remain free from conservative constraints that can inhibit an artist from innovating, discovering, learning. While my shows are thematically different, my oeuvre has a certain continuity where expression is concerned; artwork titled Bloomscrush (Source: PR Handout)

The artist draws the complexities of our contemporary society highlighting women and children and their plight. For example, the work 'Slipper and Silver' is inspired from the latest event in Tamil Nadu, where 60 dalits walked 'Kambala Naicken Street' wearing footwear for the first time. (Source: PR Handout)