Artist defines common ground between Indonesia and India
Artist defines common ground between Indonesia and India
By Pavan Kapoor
JAKARTA (JP): Is it possible to be in love with two cultures
at the same time? Apparently it is, evident by Nirupama S.
Karkhanis' painting exhibition at the World Trade Center here.
Karkhanis is from India but has lived for more than a decade
in Indonesia, experiencing an affinity for both cultures that is
unabashedly unveiled in varied themes of her artwork.
In commemoration of this month's golden jubilee celebrations
of India's independence, her debut exhibition in Jakarta opened
last Saturday, with Indian ambassador S.T. Devare doing the
honors. The paintings and murals seem to have evolved from a
vibrant kaleidoscope of thematic similarities between the Indian
and Indonesian cultural dialogue.
A graduate of the Sir J.J. School of Art at Mumbai, Karkhanis
began her love affair with arts on a professional basis in the
animation department of the Indian government. After years of
freelance painting and designing, as well as winning a state
award, she has taught at the Jakarta International School since
1981.
Staying in constant communication with children from all
cultural backgrounds is the chief inspiration for Karkhanis.
Recognizing their immense potential often forms the base for an
idea to spin off into a theme for her painting.
"Children work with unpreconceived notions, so their art can
be considered unadulterated by adult norms, and thus purely
creative," she says.
Living in a cultural explosion all the time is perhaps what
makes the peoples of Indonesia and India so passionate and
dramatic, and expressing it in some art form comes naturally.
Constantly drawing parallels between India and Indonesia,
Karkhanis' collection is an incorporation of traditional artwork
of local flavor, such as herbal medicine sellers in Puncak, West
Java, women in traditional clothes weaving intricate ikat
textiles and painting surreal batik cloths.
On the Indian front, there are rural women bricklayers and the
hooded Gujrati woman traveling on a camel, glorious in their
rural rusticity, sporting ethnic garb of vibrant colors that is a
delight to any artist's palette.
Another parallel between the two cultures can be seen in the
paintings on puppet shows -- the charismatic wayang Indonesian
puppet and its famous Indian Katputli counterpart.
"There is art all around us in Jakarta itself, and all one has
to do is take a deep breath of this culturally rich atmosphere
and feel the inspiration flow," says Karkhanis.
Where usually a collection of a particular theme would be
interesting in the diversity of a particular subject, a variety
of themes and styles painted over 15 years reflects the various
moods and thought channels of the artist.
"Sticking to one particular style, theme or technique is to
put chains on your brush. I am as much a patron of abstract art
as I am of romanticism or any other theme," she said to guests on
the opening night.
Abstract art in one of the exhibited works is transcendental,
with subtle tones amid the wild confusion of a scrambling bull
race. Another portrays the struggle for freedom depicted in the
triranga, the three colors of the Indian flag.
Her romanticism is perhaps best portrayed in the most
expensive painting in the show, with the Taj Mahal as a befitting
background and two pristine white doves in the foreground perched
on the arch of a ruin.
The exhibition is on until Aug. 30.