Dialogues With The Self

NEW DELHI: Our first tryst with ‘The Portret Project’ (TPP) was at an event organised by the self-described “niche art gallery” in Delhi’s Chandni Chowk. Complementing the historically rich setting, TPP’s curatorial team used a 100-year-old vintage camera and antique frames to capture the many faces passing through the moonlit(we did it during the day - so change the word maybe?) market in the most unique way.

“Frequently discarded when a painting changes hands or is damaged, frames convey a great deal about the object they contain,” TPP’s founder Sakhshi Mahajan, had said at the time. “The project was used to explore a layman’s perception of a portrait as well as analyze and observe different portrait sitters through this blend of art and ornamentation.”

Intrigued, we sat down with Sakhshi to learn more about her gallery, future projects and her decision to focus on portraiture as an art form.

Sakhshi founded ‘The Portret Project’ in 2013, having discovered a passion for art whilst a student at the University of Chicago. TPP, as the name suggests, focuses on portraiture; it hosts art shows and offers portrait commissioning services based on the premise that the power of the portrait lies in its ability to “draw in the viewer and inform him or her of the subject’s essence, identity and existence.”

When we asked Sakhshi to elaborate on her interest in portraiture, she said that her decision to focus on the ‘portret’ is manifold and possibly even changes every day. The crux however, seems to be in Sakhshi’s belief that the portrait “captures the indefinable essence of the sitter,” from which she draws her fascination with the evolution of the portrait and its transformation over time.

“Today it [portraiture] may be considered to be a dying art form and hence it is even more exciting to go and scout for young portrait artists,” Sakhshi says.

In line with the interest in the evolution of portraiture, ‘The Portret Project’s’ next event, ‘Dialogues With The Self’ attempts to highlight the way in which artists continue to examine and respond to the psychological self by using different media. By doing so, the show hopes to portray the evolving expression of an artist’s particular socio-political or cultural situation.

“We decided to give our audience something different in terms of the psychological image, which an artist perceives,” Sakhshi explains in reference to the gallery’s upcoming show.

“The theme is inspired by concept of the ‘Dialogical Self’ developed by the Dutch Psychologist, Hubert Hermans. Today, research in personality, social psychology, and sociology has renewed an interest in the ‘self.’ Hermans argues that the self is a society and the mind imagines different opinions of participants in an internal dialogue, hence being multivoiced and dialogical. It highlights the concept of modern society being influenced by a multiplicity of collective voices and hence having multiple ‘selves.’”

A look at the artists and works being showcased at the exhibition throw further light on this interplay between society and the self.

Artist Sahaya Sharma’s work (of which, ‘Evil Tissue’ is featured above), attempts to examine the interaction of various layers of the mind, and their balancing of freedom, accident and spontaneity. The central feature of Sharma’s work is the liberation, through her imagination, of simultaneous realities. “They do not surrender all their meanings in the first viewing, which provides visual stimulation and aesthetic delight; rather, they demand multiple viewings which, in effect, convey the essential secrets that sensitize the viewer to both the inner and outer space and form the crucial structural glue that holds the works together,” the show’s curator Anirudh Chari says.

A look at Venugopal V.G.’s work (of which, ‘Multiples’ is featured above) will reveal the artist’s expression of angst. "In this constantly changing world, the question of ‘being myself’ is the biggest challenge. In the last few years articulating the process of fixing identities has become a major aspect in my works. The present body of works is the result of my evolving alternative approaches in dealing with questions I ask myself about changing facets of human relations and sensibilities, struggle or identity in an urban context. Along with the seen, I have tried to combine intangible aspects of my surroundings. I use metaphors, variations in scale and repetition as the devices to achieve the desired results,” Venugopal explains.

N. Ramachandra , (whose portrait ‘Me’ is featured above) attempts to lay claim to the possibility of spatial transformation. To achieve this, the forms within the image become organic, almost as though they face the same destiny, addressing themes such as alienation, conflict, fragmentation, and desire.

“This self portrait dissects my body in fragments to study its decoded being that can not be explained in words… it’s “me-?”, a massive ‘thought chain’, an abstract thing that can only exist with this physical self,” Ramachandra says in reference to the portrait titled ‘Me’.

Artist Pallav Chander (whose work ‘Gaze’ is featured above) offers a take on portraiture that locates himself in his art. “Art is all about self therapy for me, my works are like chapters of a personal diary. My Process is all about healing my emotions through the medium of painting. My subjects mainly focus on moments, stories and muses in my life.”

Kiran Thulasi’s work (an example of which is featured above) looks to pose questions about identity and the performing self. The artist aims to strip away the outer identity thrust as a projection, arriving at the essence of the subject -- be it despairing hope, longing, anxiety or desire. “Thulasi’s art is about the junction between the objective and the subjective; the point where the individual and the world collide,” Anirudh Chari elaborates.

N Prasannakumar’s work (of which, ‘Distorted Self’ is featured above) is contemplative and personal, attempting to make the viewer “aware of the falsehood behind conventions and be able to find a way back to the mysterious essence of things.” In this regard, the apparent simplicity of Prasannakumar’s work is deliberate but unfounded.

Anamika V, (an example of whose work is featured above) transcends stereotypes of age and gender and uses traditional media within a strong conceptual framework. The artist looks to disorient the viewer, juxtaposing the commonplace and the unexpected, ambiguity and tension, the mysterious and the familiar. “The internal complexities and contradictory meanings make these portraits of the mind not just visually stimulating but also fascinating subjects of analysis and exploration,” Anirudh Chari says.

The other artists they are showcasing are V. Umashankar V., Manush John, Aishwaryan K., A. Naveen Kumar and Avijit Mukherjee.

The Citizen highly recommends TPP’s ‘Dialogues With The Self.’ The details of the exhibition are as follows:

‘Dialogues With The Self’
Bakheda
Khasra 258, Lane 3,
Westend Marg, Said-ul-Ajaib
New Delhi
October 30 - November 2, 2014
11 AM to 7 PM

For further details, contact:

‘The Portret Project’
A 10/6, Vasant Vihar, Basement
New Delhi- 110057
sakhshi@theportetproject.com
+91 9871149911
www.theportretproject.com