A Hyderabad art showcase uses everyday images to present the unseen

Can You See What I See?, at Hyderabad’s Kalakriti art gallery, is an invitation to viewers to look beyond the obvious

Can You See What I See? The question doubles up as the title of an exhibition at Hyderabad’s Kalakriti Art Gallery. Paintings, sculptures and installations by 12 artists, curated by Supriya Lahoti Gandhi and Ruchi Sharma, nudge viewers to get proactive and interpret an artwork rather than be passive viewers. 

A few artworks reflect the artists’ observations from their daily lives. While the artists depict slice-of-life happenings, the works also provide cues to look beyond the obvious and search for intangible stories.

For instance, one of Ajay Dhapa’s artworks, Navivasi (new fragrance), reflects multicultural co-existence. He uses a floral carpet as his canvas to portray childhood memories of his hometown, Jamnagar. The Vadodara-based artist uses techniques from Mughal and Pahadi miniature paintings for his imagery of a marketplace, old architecture and vendors selling their wares by the streetside. Beneath these vignettes is a picture of communal harmony.

From a distance, one of Ajay Lakhera’s artworks looks like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle that need to be rearranged. Fragmented images, a few hundred of them, are a reference to unstoppable memories. It is the artist’s way of telling viewers that even small, insignificant events have a way of shaping who we are. A collection of memories is woven together to describe life as it unfolds. 

In the larger context, Can You See What I See? is a collection of artworks that have diverse narrative structures. Artists use forms, figures and patterns drawn from their observations of Nature, architecture and people to discuss history and social interactions. 

A series of paintings by Ganesh Das highlights environmental concerns. He draws attention to the need for earth-friendly practices and reducing the exploitation of natural resources. The imagery of birds, animals and flora is a throwback to a time when people co-existed with Nature rather than trying to dominate it.

Girjesh Kumar Singh’s installations are designed using pieces from demolished constructions. He presents a series of doorways as a marker of the history of a place. The brick red of the old walls narrates a story of migration and displacement.