Overview

Participating Artists: A. Balasubramaniam, Debnath Basu and Anandajit Ray, Anita Dube, Asim Waqif, Baiju Parthan, Bose Krishnamachari, C. K. Rajan, Chittrovanu Mazumdar, Gulammohammed Sheikh, Kiran Subbaiah, Rakhi Peswani, Ravi Agarwal, Sathyanand Mohan, T. V. Santhosh, Vidya Kamat, Zarina Hashmi, and photographs by Unknown Photographers.

The use of language and letterforms in art originated from a movement that rejected the depiction of physical objects. Traditionally, text and images have been used worldwide for storytelling, as seen in Indian illustrated manuscripts and colonial documentation. However, there has been a historical disconnect in perceiving visual and textual languages in conventional art training. Textual elements made a comeback in the twentieth century with a fresh perspective.

The relationship between text and visuals is a topic for exploration: does text enhance the power of visuals, or do visuals enhance the power of text? Are they counterparts in the visual-textual discourse? These questions remain to be revisited and re-explored.

Subbaiah playfully transforms the image of an everyday object such as a bicycle by transforming its form and thereby function. He plays with the idea of creating symbols or images to communicate messages to the viewer, bringing in a gist of humor. He turns the image into a symbol for signage – that does not conventionally require text. Unlike the familiar signage that is meant to provide information (about something that exists), the object in this signage here tickles our thought by its impossibility of existence.

Subbaiah’s practice encompasses acute observations of the material world that surrounds us. He tactfully plays with the relationship between the form and function of objects by intervening in the aesthetic of their making and usage, in turn liberating them from their actual function.

“Text Matters”, The Guild, Alibaug. https://www.guildindia.com/SHOWS/TextMatters/works.htm