NO PLACE TO CALL HOME

AN EXHIBITION BY ARTIST ASHISH KHUSHWAHA EXPLORES THE VANISHING HABITATS OF ANIMALS, AND THEIR STRUGGLES WITH THE URBAN SPACES AND MANMADE CHAOS

Growing up amidst sparrows and mynahs in Bastar, artist Ashish Khushwaha loved to paint. “As I kept moving from villages to towns and then cities for my education, I realised that the animals I grew up with were slowly disappearing,” he recalls. Was this related to the fact that time was passing by or the fact that he had moved places? “Maybe both, but today even the villages and small towns do not have the kind of fauna that they used to have once upon a time,” he says.

He adds that he hasn’t seen a vulture in ages. “They have no where to go anymore, they are just disappearing,” he adds. The rich heritage that planet earth held once, is no longer the same, it is vanishing bit by bit at a faster pace than one can imagine. Ashish has explored this aspect in his artwork. In his recent exhibition, the “Inheritance of Loss”, the artist has focused on ecology which is fighting hard to exist amidst the human habitat. “There are companies that have taken over rural areas as well. They are not following rules and regulations and have poisoned the water leading to a massive negative impact on animals and plants in many villages. While so many species are on the verge of extinction, there are many others headed that way as well. I do not understand why the companies are not being questioned. No one seems to be bothered by the fact that these things need to be checked right away, before it is too late,” he adds. In this series, Ashish has tried to juxtapose the urban structures, the man-made commotion and the decaying ecology with the animals. “One of the paintings showcasing a peacock is one of my favourites. It depicts a peacock that has lost it’s natural habitat and is looking around, wondering where to go. It is very sad but it is true. Peacocks have lost their natural habitat and to live in urban spaces and towns and face many hardships due to that,” he explains.

His other artworks depict animals like rhinoceros, deers, oxen, birds and many more. The wholes series took him almost five years to work on. “I used to go to different places to draw. I have spent considerable time in Bastar as well, working on many paintings in this series. It helped me being able to remain closer to nature,” he explains.

Ashish has worked with watercolours for the series. “But I love to work with many other media. I have worked with oil and acrylic colours in the past. I spent an entire year working with oil. Watercolour happens to be one of my favourites as well.”

He is next going to work on the life in Mumbai, the struggle and the pace of the city. “Mumbai attracts me like no other place, the lifestyles here are so different. Children in different part of the city have stark differences and I want to capture them on my canvas,” he concludes.

The exhibition is on at India International Centre Art Gallery till May 29.

While so many species are on the verge of extinction, there are many others headed that way as well.

— ASHISH KHUSHWAHA