One size fits all

Looking at the traditional miniature through contemporary eyes and drawing inspiration from it is what the Harmony Art Show,being held in Mumbai,seeks to do. “The show explores how inspiration is drawn from the past,integrated,internalised and then externalised by the painters of today,” says BN Goswamy,a distinguished art historian.

The show opened at Coomaraswamy Hall,Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya,on August 6,and will continue till August 14.

Called “Fabular Bodies: New Narratives in the Art of the Miniature”,this year’s exhibition focuses on how the art form has moved into the present day through the works of contemporary artists,who have drawn inspiration from traditional miniatures. For instance,there are sculptures that use materials such as staple pins and ball bearings to comment on urban life today.

The show comprises drawings,paintings,sculptures,comics and computer graphics by 24 artists such as Nilima Sheikh,Anant Joshi,Manjunath Kamath,Mithu Sen,Chitra Ganesh,NS Harsha and Arpita Singh.

Joshi’s sculpture for the show draws from the traditional cuckoo-clock house. “A cuckoo-clock house is,in a way,a miniature of a larger house. My work draws attention to the term ‘miniature,’” he says.

Anjum Singh’s sculpture reflects a similar understanding of the tradition of the miniature. Sheikh,on the other hand,uses the lyricism of the style to draw images of violence,while Harsha draws figures of sleeping people,using it as a metaphor to comment on the vulnerability of the homeless. In a stark departure,graphic novelist,designer and illustrator Orijit Sen’s work uses a comic strip to comment on social issues.