Artist Manjunath Kamath?s next project is painting on the walls of a gallery, and suggestions by visitors will shape the artwork
If one corner of his Hauz Khas studio has art installations wrapped in plastic sheets for an exhibition at the Taipei Museum in Taiwan in September, a few feet away is the computer on which Manjunath Kamath composes digital images, and, across the room, are sheets of paper with drawings the artist makes between working on canvases. ?I like to work with different mediums,? points out the 38-year-old artist who, from today, will convert the 2,000 sq ft Gallery Espace into his studio, painting on its walls with his brush and marker. The week-long project will allow people to interact with Kamath as he covers the walls and floor space of the New Friends Colony gallery. ?The artwork will be an outcome of the interaction,? adds Kamath.
The project was conceived two years back when, during a visit to his ancestral home in Bantwal, Karnataka, the artist stumbled on drawings made by him near the cowshed, as a child. ?It was nostalgic,? says Kamath, who is known for satire in his works. His installation, Second Hand Cars goes to Heaven , that was exhibited at Lalit Kala Akademi in December 2009, had fiberglass rabbits that seem to be getting sucked into the exhaust of an upturned car on the ceiling, hinting at the rapidly multiplying population. In another large digital print Overdose , showcased at the India Art Summit
in Delhi last year, he created a collage featuring Raja Ravi Varma, Renaissance paintings and Western advertisements among others.
While the artist notes that he is going with ?an open mind to paint the wall?, he is also preparing for another show at Sakshi Gallery, Mumbai, in February. ?The work will be themed on the practice of making copies of antiques and will comment on different interpretations of history,? says Kamath. Also lined-up is another wall project at Pratappur village in Rajasthan with Mumbai-based artist Chintan Upadhyay in December this year. Here, Kamath, a graduate of Chamarajendra Academy of Visual Arts, Mysore, will paint local folklore on village homes. ?It will be tales passed through generations?.
The walls at Gallery Espace will be whitewashed few weeks after Kamath concludes the project, but he does not regret the impermanence. ?I will photograph the work, but I?m not too sentimental about it,? he notes, putting together his tools?a brush, marker and black and white poster colours. And as he paints, playing in the backdrop will be instrumental music by Bhimsen Joshi and Kumar Gandharva as well as Tibetan chants. ?That?s how I work in my studio too,? he smiles.
Kamath will paint at Gallery
Espace, 16, Community Centre, New Friends Colony, till August 26. Contact: 26922947
