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It  is part bike, part insect, a little of a scorpion, and somewhat of a spider. "What started as the front of a bike, got dragonfly wings, which then merged into the tail of the scorpion,” stated sculptor-scrapturist Arzan Khambatta, about his Phantasia. He was one of three Parsi artists whose works were on display at the second edition of The Art of India (AOI) show held at Worli’s multi-halled, cavernous Snowball Studios from March 19-25, 2023. The other two were ceramicist Adil Writer and painter Naval Jijina. The theme of the exhibition was "Inclusion and Diversity.” Khambatta’s "whole composition required to be uplifted, in a stealth-like posture, which is why it got the spider legs.” Viewers may well have taken Phantasia for something out of the set of a science fiction movie, suspended as it was in a hall with low lighting. As says the ever-bubbly scrapturist, the work  "metamorphosed as it got conceptualized and created.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Curated by gallerist Dr Tarana Khubchandani and mentored by artist Brinda Miller, the show featured the works of over 100 artists in various genres — painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, digital and mixed-media works. 

Yet another of Khambatta’s works, Shakti, a "many headed heroic entity took shape from bike and car parts like my earlier scraptures… The enigmatic figure seems to fly above with a watchful eye on all below, protecting them from any evil… I did not want (the 10-headed sculpture) to be called Ravana lest it offend anyone,” the artist told us on the sidelines of the show. A previously seen installation of Khambatta’s, Walls, is a display of free standing rectangular screens. The artist believes that "while physical walls define our spaces and allow us to express ourselves on them and within them, they also serve as a barrier to keep the rest of the world out, and in a way make the space within them sacrosanct.” As the concept note on the work states, "His aim is to shine a light on an aspect of our lives that is taken very much for granted.”

Ninety-four-year-old reclusive painter Ervad Naval Jijina’s images figure in the show’s "forgotten series.” Titled "Retrospective Solo of Aerial Views in Painting and Music,” a special loft with about 25 of his creations housed "the most images on show by any one artist,” Khambatta told us. On display were Jijina’s series on aerial views which the press kit calls "not abstract landscapes atop of an aeroplane but (arising) from a play in color.” His Flight to Mars is a vivid red; most of the others are muted reds, browns and greens. The artist’s Still Life is all in beige and brown.  The nonagenarian was coaxed to showcase his large body of works and that of his wife Gool in 2021 at the peak of the pandemic by Khambatta, who introduced the Jijinas to Khubchandani, director of Gallery Art and Soul (see "The agony and the ecstasy,” Parsiana, February 21-March 6, 2021).

Titled "The Unconditional Series of Portrait Platters” Writer’s Ardhanarishvara imagery is based on Indian mythology and folklore. "The theme of the show being diversity and inclusivity, this worked well with my subject matter,” he told Parsiana before the show. The platters celebrate multifaceted India, its diversity, its ethnicity, he stated. "The blurring of imagery and gender in Vedic literature brings us to the form of the Ardhanarishvara, which represents the synthesis of masculine and feminine energies of the universe… The union of these principles is exalted as the root and womb of all creation… It conveys that God is both Shiva and Parvati, both male and female, both father and mother, both aloof and active, both fearsome and gentle, both destructive and constructive, and unifies all other dichotomies of the universe,” Writer states in the artist’s note to his display. His platters are made of "hardy stoneware clay and fired with wood, soda and/or gas, their post-firing surfaces telling us stories of their quest with fire, ash and energies,” communicated the Auroville-based artist. 

The exhibits are to be moved to Delhi’s Bikaner House from April 7-13. 

AOI is "an effort to unite artists and art lovers (showcasing) creative expressions of artistic proficiency and imaginative concepts. Several artworks are displayed "to make this into a magnum opus show,” states their website. Masters represented in this year’s AOI included Akbar Padamsee, Jeram Patel and Jai Zharotia among others. Younger artists too were showcased. The current show was supported by The Times of India. The 2022 edition of the show was held in Ahmedabad.