What lies beyond

contemporary

Expressionist artist Chittrovanu Mazumdar does not allow any uniformity to creep into his artworks, notes Brinda Dasgupta.

When an artist, known otherwise for his reticence, opens up his studio for the very first time and invites you in, it is a sign of something special in the air. It is almost like a sneak peek into his private world, into the many inspirations that catch his fancy.

Very recently in Kolkata, prominent artist Chittrovanu Mazumdar presented his solo exhibition “and undated: Nightskin” at Harrington Mansion, spreading over two storeys — his own studio and the Harrington Art Centre, located a floor above. The 10-day exhibition, impressive in its magnitude, comprised several large multimedia installations, two series of mediated photographs, and related videos and projections.

Chittrovanu has never been one to shy away from the unexplored, or the unattempted. Initially known for his huge canvasses and mammoth solo showings, he has since exhibited his art in New Delhi, Mumbai, and Bangalore, not to mention London, Paris, Dubai and New York. While his style may have seen changes over the years, what has remained constant is his inclination towards the addition of multimedia environments to his works. To Chittrovanu, sound, light and video play as vital a role as the artwork itself.

Since his early days, he has moved on to explore a wider spectrum of media and technology. His relentlessly seeking temperament is influenced by aesthetic, literary and socio-cultural sources. His own upbringing by a French mother and Indian father has ensured access to two distinct cultures, and his father, Nirode Mazumdar, a respected avante-garde artist in his own time, laid the foundation for his fragmented, semi-abstract style.

In his typical style, in this exhibition, Chittrovanu moves beyond two-dimensional paintings to a multi-disciplinary approach to art. Machine installations, digital photographs, and background music all come together to provide an art experience like no other. The artist expands the boundaries of the ‘conventional’, to put forward for art lovers and connoisseurs an exhibition infused with energy, and extremely experimental in style.

What is perhaps most interesting, or striking, about the artworks, are the small windows in the imposing machine installations, the carts on wheels, which open outwards. Almost unnoticeable, yet hard to ignore when one sees them, they tempt the viewer, and one wonders what lies inside.

Chittrovanu explains that this is the main premise behind “and undated: Nightskin”. “The windows open and close,” he says, “Thus they reveal as much as one wants to see. It represents a viewer’s perception of art, and the viewer must negotiate the space and bring it into a personal context.”

Exploring boundaries

Opening the windows to explore what lies beyond, the artist says, is purely a matter of choice. The experience, then, immediately becomes much more interactive, drawing the viewer in and laying open myriad possibilities.

Of course, for the naturally curious like me, taking a peek into the windows is a must. They open willingly to the pull of the fingers, revealing digital photographs of the Jharkhand landscape. The scenes are bleak and barren, almost hauntingly dystopian in nature. Despite the openness of the space, one feels constricted, even claustrophobic. Mere existence becomes fragile, as one struggles to deal with the space and time that the artist has put before the viewer.

The tar and wax works also make a mark — molten wax has been poured on a plywood surface, and tar on iron sheets — resulting in an impression of submerging. The wax reflects light, but the tar absorbs it, and in this, a relationship of ironies is created.

Light, for instance, plays a very important part in the exhibition — it is probably the single-most element that is controlled with great deliberation. Light is used to reveal and conceal, illuminating through colour, yet blocking out busy, interfering presences.

There is a visually charged space created by the series of images contained within black metal boxes, each throwing forth a pool of red light. The images are of personal memory, inducing the viewer to crouch down, but at the heart of the installation is an empty, blank box, utterly devoid of any image.

Time and again, Chittrovanu returns to the idea of “nothingness”, of emptiness within fullness.

The “nothingness” is perhaps best expressed in the artist’s landscapes and earthscapes — Chittrovanu lays bare the harsh and unforgiving terrain of Jharkhand, through his photographs. The digital retouching is apparent too, as the images are manipulated to dissolve the distant horizons and cloud formations, to give a bleak, abstract feel. The landscape looks scorched, hostile, and almost defiant — the texture is given added atmosphere with the hypnotic music playing in the background.

Unspoken story

Chittrovanu’s works are starkly poignant, almost melancholic in representation, constantly challenging the viewer to glance beyond the shadows of the ‘typical’, to decipher the darkness, the gaps in memory. As the exhibition combines videos, music, photographs and digital media, the artist puts forward the unspoken story, the unperceived mystique, and the anxiety of existence.

There is a surreal, dream-like quality to the works. No wonder then that Chittrovanu, one of the country’s leading expressionist artists, does not allow any uniformity to creep into his artworks. Each one is different, yet a viewer can make a seamless transition from one to the next, while the music in the background takes on almost compelling tones. The extreme fluidity combines with a sense of fragility, making the whole experience of art as much about the viewer as it is about the artist.