JOIN USExemplifying history through imagination
In an attempt to bring to life one of the greatest lessons from the Mahabharata, artiste Naresh Kapuria organised a six-day long exhibition titled ‘The last chapter of Mahabharata’ at Alliance Francaise De Delhi.
Using acrylic on canvas and wooden objects, the artiste created 3D and 2D installations that made the visitors feel the havoc and destructions caused during the great war of Kurukshetra.
Starting from the vicious game of dice, to the symbols used in the epic, the field of war, the unresolved chakryavyuha, the fish pillar and the throne of thorns, the installations displayed at the exhibition convey the message that one should spread peace and harmony and resolve conflicts in a peaceful manner without bloodshed. Else, our endeavours will be resting on the throne of thorns.
“It is all about the victory of good over evil,” Kapuria tells Metrolife. “The series of installations start from the war, to the unspoken dialogues between the warriors, the game of dice, to the courageous Abhimanyu fighting the chakravyuha and the final intervention of Lord Krishna as the eternal power. It brings forward the fact that one should not give away the eternal Dharma for the temporal pleasures of life,” he adds.
Born in 1952, Kapuria has always been a trendsetter by his work which defies simple classification. He installed the throne of thorns, a piece seen nowhere in the Mahabharata, yet signifying all what it is about.
“This is through the imagination of an artiste,” he says. “It was because of the throne that the war and bloodshed took place, and finally the one who won the war will get the throne of thorns for all the chaos and confusion caused,” Kapuria further elucidates.
Looking at these works and installations on which Kapuria has been working for the past two years, one can undoubtedly say that he is one of the most creative contemporary artists.
The exhibition is on at the Galerie Romain Rolland, Alliance Francaise De Delhi, 72, Lodhi Estate, till today.