Inspired with the dream of a world beyond boundaries, the song Imagine by John Lennon went on to become an inspiration for millions. Here’s one such example of an art exhibition inspired by the song. Adapting music to the medium of art is the latest group show, “Imagine”, which explores the idea of Imagine to imagine the world around us in the age of rapidly changing times.
Dedicated to John Lennon, the show has been put up by four city-based artists Manohar Chuliveru, Srinath Vadapalli, Satya Sai Mothadaka and Shivaprasad Chiluveru, who talk about the sources of life in today’s rapidly changing world through art.
Apart from the theme, the art show is also interesting for its implementation of unconventional techniques. From the dyptych technique, photograph printing on canvas and a nice blend of digital painting and the traditional form, every frame has a new story to tell. The visuals are presented in different layers, with personal subjectivity or metaphors, inviting the viewer to interact with the work, dialogue and ‘Imagine’, which is the ultimate purpose of the show.
For example, sculptures in cardboard and aluminum foil by Manohar Chiluveru strike a chord with the viewer at the first go. His sculpture titled “Green is peace medium” is a huge bulb, painted in bright green with a man’s face as the filament. Explaining the concept behind making the sculpture, Manohar says, “The sculpture signifies green energy, which is the bulb in green and man should take the initiative of starting this green movement, hence he is the filament.”
He has taken up pop culture and history to reflect the theme in his art pieces. Another painting compares the Hiroshima nuclear incident to Janet Leigh’s shower scene scene from Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 thriller Psycho.
Ask him, how do they relate to each other? He replies, “Nature has always been referred to as a female. And when I was painting this, somehow Janet’s face struck my mind. And hence this dyptych painting which is like a comment on the nature of war.” Also good with digital art, Manohar also refers to Imagine, with regard to pushing one’s own boundaries.
Manohar and the other three artists, Srinath, Satya Sai and Shiva Chuluveruare all students of Fine Arts in Jawaharlal Nehru Technical University.
While, photographer Shiva Chiluveru has his own interpretation of Imagine. “For me imagine means, conversing with yourself, being a rebel within yourself,” he says. A specialist with the photography-on-canvas technique, Shiva has faces of people giving the message loud and clear. His printed works had a peculiar quality to them, which will leave the viewer wondering whether they are paintings or photographs. “In my photographs, people are in dialogue with themselves, about how life can be imagined in a way John Lenon saw it. About how they can look into their eyes and talk about a progressive change.”, he says. Also having worked extensively on the degrading rock formations, Shiva portrays how the landscape is being depleted at a fast pace.
For Srinath Vadapalli, shadows and windows pop in the idea of imagine. “My photographs give people a feeling of it’s-colourful, but-not-colourful,” A series of photographs titled “Windows Without Walls”, Srinath evidently loves playing with shadows. Though self-explanatory, the photographs have a deeper meaning than the obviously stated ones. “When I say windows without walls, it is inspired from world wide web (www). I want my photographs to be the same. And black and white are two very strong colours, that help to put across the John Lenon’s message right on spot.”
Some of the most unusual frames at the exhibition belonged to Satya Sai Mothadaka. Some photographs like a phone booth in the middle of nowhere, digital art of a Picasso’s goat impression, a banner reading dogs not allowed on the beach surely make you inquisitive.
The exhibition is on display at the Alliance Francaise of Hyderabad, Road No. 3, Banjara Hills till October 4, from 9 am to 6 pm, except on Sundays.
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