Art of evolution -Lata Gidwani, THE HINDU

Satire meets metaphorical slices of life in Rameshwar Broota’s latest works

An exhibition of nuance and experimentation, master artist and photographer Rameshwar Broota’s new solo show titled “Scripted In Time – II” is being presented by Vadhera Art Gallery at Shridharani Gallery.

“The age of digitisation has witnessed formidable accomplishments for photography technology, facilitating a range of effects. Ironically, the development has eclipsed the essence of photography as an art, one not merely for aesthetic pleasure but for appreciating detail and humanising the trends and cultures to trace the trajectory of human evolution, socially, politically and economically,” remarks Broota .

The exhibition features used components like shreds of janmapatris (horoscopes), crumpled newspapers, torn notes, weathered postcards and stamps through the use of commercial and industrial material resin. In his unique concept of evoking introspection and mystery, he explains, “I first apply layers of different coloured paints on the surface and then finely scrape away the upper layers of the painting to unravel luminous images. Each work has multiple layers of resin with the used components placed between the transparent layers as metaphorical slices of time.”

One of his satirical works at the exhibition draws a sharp parallel between the thin, long, manicured fingers of a model and the claws of a crow, bringing to fore the hypocritically absurd social constructs of beauty. Printed in the Corning Gorilla Glass, a magnificent frame of semi-burnt thesis of Leon Trotsky (a Russian revolutionary, Marxist theorist who was assassinated upon the instruction of Stalin) at the Leon Trotsky House Museum, Mexico, as he informs, bathed in scarlet effect, is incredibly cathartic, “signifying the fire of revolution and bloodshed.” In yet another wall-mounted work, Broota has juxtaposed a human shadow against the aerial view of a metropolitan city. In his interpretation, he says, “It is a telling comment on the commercialisation of human intellect, abilities and experiences as capital.”

Adhering to the genre of time, life and memory in his new oeuvre, he believes, “Creating these works has been like a process of mediation and meditation.”

(The exhibition is on till February 12 at Shridharani Art Gallery, Triveni Kala Sangam, New Delhi)