Redefining the art space

AHMEDABAD: A reversal of the inside and the outside — walking up the ramp past the Zen Café and Amdavad ni gufa , toward the Herwitts gallery , one is invited with over 25 canvases that occupy the exterior walls of the gallery!
Further, sculptures and installations blur the edge of the gallery premise. In an attempt to redefine the space of art — both literally and metaphorically , the group exhibition ‘Art Constellation’ , by Nexus Art brings together over 16 contemporary artists.
Beginning from interiors: Occupied by two serenely lit installations by Nityananda Ojha. The ‘archive of protestant’ categorically puts together objects and symbols that overlap religion and various other power plays. The second installation under the spotlight, made up of innumerable nooses that pile the floor, only to rise up to the ceiling, are held together by super market bands. “Who decides the rules of the society ?” asks the politicallycharged artist who questions socially hierarchy through his work.
On the walls, of the many intriguing works, is Amdavadi artist, Vipul Prajapati’s series — a meditation on the life of the boat builders in Veraval . “Having interacted with the community for over five years, I now relate to their lives. Their indigenous knowledge of boatbuilding is passed on from one generation to the next un-institutionally . Being such master craftsmen, many live impoverished lives,” says Prajapati , who draws parallel to his own art education with his father .
Ketan Desai’s ‘Master Striker’ rests under a tree at the edge of the Gufa, contemplating over a game of carom — who is ready to make the next strike. Like his previous works, this work also offers a commentary on current affairs in the nation.
Crawling over the fluid boundaries onto the Gufa, Vyom Mehta’s installation made of balloons, twisted to form insect-like creatures, tries to ‘interact’ with the environs . “Through the process of my work, I am relooking at this space. What does it mean to different age groups in the city, what is a collaboration — between Doshi and Hussain? And formalistically the Gufa belongs to another world, like a moonscape,” says Vyom. Vyom’s playful creatures belong to this space — mischievous, transitory and ephemeral — just like children who are fascinated by Gufa the most!
Other artists on display are Alok Bal, Anasuya and Jagannath Mahopatra, Arunanshu Chowdhury, Heeral Trivedi, Sandip Daptaris, Mukhti Chauhan, Sanjay Yamgar, Shatrughan Thakur, Shital Panchal, Sudip Dutta and T Venkanna. The exhibition will be on till April 29.