Mapping Stillness
Nine Fish Art Gallery
The New Great Eastern Mills,
25-29 Dr. Ambedkar Road,
Near Rani Baug,
Byculla, Mumbai-400027
On display: 22nd July, 2016 to 31st August, 2016
Opening hours: 10.30 am to 7.30 pm (open all days)
Website: www.ninefish.in
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ninefishgallery
India 05 August 2016: MAPPING STILLNESS aims to chart an aesthetic enquiry around the notion of stillness that is perceived in varying degrees in the works of Sujith SN, Prathap Modi and Madhu Das. In mediums as diverse as watercolours, woodblocks, woodcut prints and drawings, the works are pictorial makers of journeys across fictive landscapes.
While mapping is generally understood as a visual- oriented process depicting the factual, stillness refers to a physical as well as a psychological state of being. The scope of this exploration extends the idea of stillness beyond a physical condition. Rather, it seeks to address an aspect of stillness – evoked as a visual pause –that has its origins in the realm of the metaphorical and the imaginary. Distilled from the artists’ formal and conceptual moorings, it lies suspended like an ephemeral presence in the luminal space.
Madhu Das' Work Images
Madhu Das, The Act-2 ,watercolour, pencil, gold on acid free paperleaf on
Prathap Modi Art
Prathap Modi, I want to give something for society, woodcut print on paper in 2011
Sujith SN, Archipelago, watercolour on paper in 2015
Sujith SN's Images
This state of suspended animation also created an illusion of movement within the works. Often operating within a single work, the two antithetical impulses- stillness and movement- lend a sense of disruption and continuum to the layered narratives. The artists appear to draw on such familiar photographic- cinematic tropes to expand on the residues of meanings embedded within their works.
In his watercolours, Sujith negotiates the formal aspects of scale and colour to construct panoramic landscapes that may be viewed as poetic- prophetic meditations on the impact of the twin forces of urbanization and globalization. Underpinning the introspective register and compositional equilibrium that inform his works is a nuanced stillness that allows the viewer to respond to them at a visceral level.
On the other hand, Prathap’s woodblocks and woodcut prints are self- reflective studies that combine self- portraiture and performance to express themes of oneness and a desire to co-habit in harmony with nature. The stillness discerned in the passive staging of the self amidst a tableau populated by birds and beasts is offset by the dynamic intensity of the forms, colours and textiles that he excavates from his material.
In a series of mixed media drawings on paper- reminiscent of an interconnected yet isolated sequence of freeze-frames— Madhu unpacks a palimpsest of narratives that examine the vagaries of the human condition. Navigating back and forth in time, the works are oblique comments on a society caught in the web of skewed power ratios and crippled by inertia, articulated through a language that borrows stylistic elements from traditional sources to highlight contemporary exigencies.
The play between stillness and movement gets physically amplified as we locate the works within the spatial and temporal site of the gallery. Originating in abstract thought, they offer an entry point that transports the viewer into immersive realms.
About Nine Fish Art Gallery:
Located within the precincts of a textile mill at Byculla, Mumbai, Nine Fish binds together multiple art- related initiatives into one organic entity.
Envisioned as a part of the offering at Nine Fish are art shows that cover a gamut of media: painting, printmaking, sculpture, installation, video art, archival and documentary practice as well as performance art. The gallery supports artisanal and craft practices, while seeking to dialogue with the inter-related streams of photography, design and architecture.
The space is also geared to transform into a discursive hub in order to host collateral events such as lectures, seminars, screenings, performances and other cultural activities.
Nine Fish has in place the requisite infrastructure to support art residencies, workshops and art camps.
About The Artists:
Prathap Modi: Born in Andhra Pradesh, India, Prathap completed his masters at the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda in the print making, 2007, obtaining the Gold medal. Modi has been working mainly with wood cut in which he has deepened his techniques. His images are composed through his personal observation of the several social phenomena offering a broad series of lyrical images. Reminding the importance of the humanity, his works, hoping that the spectators reflect themselves to the world of images, invite people to rethink about the essence of the human being's life.
Modi has participated in many group exhibitions and his first solo exhibition was held in Mumbai (2008) followed by his second solo exhibition in New Delhi(2011), third solo exhibition in New Delhi (2013) and his fourth solo exhibition in CCU Belgium, Brussels(2014). He currently resides in Vadodara, Gujarat.
Sujith SN: Born in 1979, Sujith SN completed his BFA from the University of Calicut, Thrissur in 2005 and his MFA from S.N. School of Fine Arts, Performing Arts and Communication, University of Hyderabad in 2007.
Sujith’s solo shows include Stains of Stimuli, Forum Art Gallery, as part of Art Chennai (2014), Psalms of an(In)visible River, Vadehra Art Gallery, Delhi (2013), Psalms of Silence and Dark, HSLU, Luzern, Switzerland (2012), Map is not the Territory, Latitude 28, Delhi (2010), The City and the Tower, Sakshi Gallery, Mumbai (2008). Sujith’s works were part of Art Basel, Hong Kong (2016) and India Art Fair, Delhi (2016) represented at both venues by Vadehra Art Gallery and India Art Summit, Delhi (2011), represented by Sakshi Gallery.
He is the recipient of FICA Emerging Artist Award (2011) and was long listed for the Skoda Prize (2011).He received a Merit Scholarship, University of Hyderabad (2005), ACK Raja Award (2005), Kerala LalithakalaAkademi State Award (2005) and Kerala LalithakalaAkademi Special Mention Award (2004). Sujith lives and works in Mumbai.
Madhu Das: Born in 1987, Madhu Das received his BFA from College of Fine Arts, Bengaluru in 2008 and an MFA from the University of Hyderabad in 2013.
Apart from Das’ solo show Work in Progress in Bengaluru (2009),Madhu has been part of numerous group shows. Recent group shows include Listen to the Lines Look for the Signs at Gallery 27, Kochi (2016), The Curriculum by Creative Time Summit in partnership with Art Oxygen & Studio-X, Mumbai (2015).
Madhu has shown at the India Art Fair, New Delhi, in 2015 and 2016, represented by The Guild Gallery, Mumbai. He was recipient of the Inlaks Fine Arts Award, 2015, and shortlisted for Emerging Indian Visual Artists by Delfina Foundation, UK, in 2014. He lives and works in Mumbai.