Life around her
An art exhibition that that narrates an intrinsic bond between the five elements
A solo art exhibition ‘Earth Story’ by artist Bharti Prajapati recently took place in the city at Visual Art Gallery, Habitat Centre, Delhi. This exhibition showcases a collection of oil paintings that narrates an intrinsic bond between the five elements, or ‘Paanch Tattva’ consisting of earth, water, fire, air and space.
“Earth Story is about the wonderful co-existence and interaction between living beings and their surroundings,” says Bharti Prajapati. She also adds and says, “Our celebrations, art, design, culture and traditions are inspired by the nature consisting of the five elements. This inclusive coexistence and inter-dependency have created a beautiful story around us. This is the story I attempted to portray through my oils onto canvas.”
In this exhibition, the artist reflects her fascination with many roles that women play, Bharti chisels their forms into statuesque proportions, using the brush as her crafting tool.
On asking the reason behind the title ‘Earth Story’, the artist replies, “Earth Story - The Elements is one such collection of women in her elements. The rural women became my muse and her various avatars incessantly encouraged me to paint her in all her glory. The women have all the wisdom, confidence, grace, dignity and a supreme aura of being in control. Which also relates to the characteristics of the earth.”
The paintings displayed in the exhibition are about the elements and their connection with us. The patterns, colours, forms from our folk and traditional art inspired by the elements and are recreated in these paintings. The exhibition is all about creating a piece of art depicting this essence of totality. And the collections of artwork are a collage of colours that forms constantly and are visible around us and that’s how we recreate them into our lifestyle and space.
Bharti feels that this exhibition was a challenge in terms of achieving a delicate balance of creating a narrative and a dialogue between the figures and space around them. “It was my motive to portray a contemplating portrait of how we absorb the elements around us and be a part of it in an organic and natural way,” she adds.
Prajapati mainly works with oil paint on canvas and this medium has fascinated her after watching all the legendary masters and their work. “It’s overall a challenge and motivation to keep viewing the rural women through fresh perspectives and how they connect with us as urban women,” she concludes.
Earth Story is about the wonderful coexistence and interaction between living beings and their surroundings. — Bharti Prajapati, Artist