FODDER FOR THOUGHT

Arun Kumar H.G. Feed. Fibreglass, Astroturf, television monitors, cables, tin buckets, Cow: 54" in height. 2006.

ARUNKUMAR H.G.'S EXHIBITION, FEED, PRESENTED BY SAKSHI GALLERY AND NATURE Morte, was mounted in Mumbai at Sakshi Gallery, from September 26th to October 6th.

Feed confronted us with a food chain that was no longer a flowchart representation of the ecosystem but a noose thwarting it. This dour vision was, however, tempered by the keen and even neo-Pop sensibilities of the artist. A ragbag of materials - including artificial turf, polythene bags, and carpets - incorporated by him with a child-like glee, highlighted his allegiance to Pop.

Common rules of communication dictate that the noun 'food' be displaced in favour of the noun 'feed' when used in relation to domestic livestock. The artist's choice of the title, Feed, was therefore as pithy as it was disquieting. In a consumerist society where hunger is endemic, everything is fodder for the perennially starving.

The artist addressed the situation of surfeit, of sensorial starvation, and of the culture of bingeing, through his works. Input Output, the toy-like contraption with duckies clothed in a tweety-coloured pelt, created a critical mood for the show. The duckies essayed their parts in the tableau - they seemed to be unwilling victims of the capitalist enthusiasm for production. Their 'beak banging' action was soporific but also inexplicably disturbing.

In the sculptural installation, Nandi, and the photograph, The Other End, the mythic Nandi and the hardy bull that drives the rural economy, were both shown as being addled by a profusion of urban objects/garbage-items. The concept of flotsam, cultural and otherwise, seemed to be a key source of inspiration for Arunkumar, and most of the exhibits drew from it.

GITANJALI DANG

COCKING A SNOOK AT THE CANON

Himanshu S. Million Dollar Baby. Charcoal on hand-made paper. 2006.

WITH THEIR PREDOMINANTLY AGGRESSIVE TENOR, WORKS ON DISPLAY AT HIMANSHU S'S first solo, Least Likely To Succeed, at the Jehangir Nicholson Gallery (NCPA), Mumbai, from the 28th of September to the 7th of October, proved to be cut-to-the-chase-subversive productions that critiqued contemporary Indian art 'masters'. Himanshu had appropriated the pictorial language of prominent Indian artists in his works and had questioned the accepted historical formulations of contemporary Indian art. His inquiry, in turn, threw up a litany of questions that touched on topics like genius, originality, frequent trips made by artists to auction houses, and ideology of convenience.

Not much escaped the brush/scalpel of the artist as he dissected iconic works by S.H. Raza, M.F. Husain, Tyeb Mehta, Atul Dodiya, and Surendran Nair, among others. Be it the 'laid an egg' pictorial criticism of a painting from Nair's recent suite, The Bad Behaviour of Singularities, or the lacerated protagonists of Jogen Chowdhury's anguished narratives, haemorrhaging currency, the works were often scalding but almost always smile-inducing.

However, the fact that the artist showed his work at a sanitised gallery space (the exhibition was presented by Chatterjee&Lal) could not be disregarded; this half-hearted guerrilla stance resulted in a loss of impetus. Also, when questions enunciated are as striking as the ones raised by the works, then some answers need to be proffered.

GITANJALI DANG