The Other Side of Mortality
Acclaimed contemporary Indian artist Anju Dodiya is holding a solo show of her latest works, Imagined Immortals in New Delhi. Her practice has often been described as self-portraiture, but the Mumbai-based artist chooses to refer to it as “fictional self-portrait”.
The paintings in Dodiya’s latest show have been created in the past year, and comprise a set of mixed media works. She says, “Imagined Immortals explores mortality, the fragile nature of the human body and the heroic aspirations that keep it going.” Dodiya turns the pages of a medical illustration book into her canvas, solidifying the relationship between the living and the dead, tying them in visible and subtle knots.
Dodiya’s first solo show was over 20 years ago, but she believes, “Art is a journey, a spiritual quest that goes on till you die. This theatre of the mind is never quiet and breeds new images, new stories; one structures, one constructs, one paints and you go on playing forever.”
About the changes in her field she explains, “When I started out, the art scene was so much smaller, almost like a family. There were just three art galleries in Mumbai then! Artists met to share work and chat in their studios. Now, art is a career. There are more opportunities and exposure with galleries, scholarships, art residencies and a growing market.”
Imagined Immortals by Anju Dodiya will be on display at Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi from January 17 to February 14, 2015.
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