Urban frames

On canvas

A biker by choice and an artist by passion, Sabya Sachi Ghosh paints the sketches he makes and photographs he captures during his travels across the country. Bringing his observational urban landscape on the canvas, Ghosh recently showcased 29 of his paintings at an exhibition titled ‘City Animosity Universality and Other Stories’ at the India Habitat Centre.

“Some sketches were made on the spot and others were photographs. Paintings that depict motion were created from photographs that I have taken,” the Kolkata-based artist, who has his studio in Agra, told Metrolife.

The common sight of freely roaming bulls, buffalos bathing, gatherings of pigeons, children besmeared with mud as they splash about in pools were few subtle observations captured by the artist.

Ghosh sees large human gathering and settlements as “anachronistic” to modern day and many of his canvases depicted mass of people engaged in different kind of work and emotions. “I tried to capture their sorrows, joys, thoughts and their everyday life, which we often glance at but don’t notice,” he explained.

On the quirky title of the exhibition, he pointed out, “The universal idea of trying to live as humans in a large society is the same everywhere. A city allows you an idea of life with ease but one runs around like a rat in a cage trying to live that idea.”

With an emphasis on people, animals, and other living beings, Ghosh steered clear from depicting tall buildings that are conventionally used to portray urban landscapes. He said, “For me, city means the teeming mass of people that live like an archipelago, so close to each other and yet each individual an island that vehemently protects its own space from others.”

While he works with all possible mediums, for this particular series, he used only acrylic colours, which he mentioned was “instinctive”.

“I am not restricted to any stylisation. I generally try to cultivate that sense of what suits the scene more,” says Ghosh, who has done several group and solo shows since 2002.