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‘Art o Graph’ – Art and the Written Word presented by ICONART Gallery

‘Art o Graph’ proposes art works in the form of art installations, incorporating literary elements of alphabet, word, verse, text or narrative symbols.

A written word is worth a thousand spoken words, it resonates in its form as an inquiry, contiguity, in its metaphor and symbolism there are new openings and reverberations beyond its visual form.

These works unite literary elements in their art installations and it is expected there will be shift that unfolds new experiences and narratives. The clarity , noise or blurred forms of text in varying mediums form additive effect to the individual content that range from reflecting on the self, urban issues, well being, environment, poetic sentiments and identity.

Here 12 artists explore their core areas of interest in colour, form, shape, movement, material, even as they unearth the extra dimension of the written word in their installations.

Curator: Avani Rao Gandra

Participating Artists:

  • Swetha Chandra
  • Maredu Ramu
  • Sonali Laha
  • Sayoni Laha
  • Pavan Kumar D
  • Ravi Kumar Nayak P
  • Sai Sheela K
  • Archana Rajguru Biswas
  • Ajit Kumar Mahato
  • Avani Rao Gandra
  • Debabrata Biswas
  • Farzona Khanoon

Individual Concepts

The Silent Word
Art Installation by Avani Rao Gandra

Materials used: Papier mache, Fibre Rope, Paper, Soil and Iron
Size: Approx 12 ft x 5ft

The most profound experiences are the most silent ones, they allow us to see the truth. Between dichotomy of thoughts and emotions; between logic and intuition, between sadness and joy, pain and well being, lust and love – it’s in this space between the words, in this void is a balance that drives human existence forward. These thoughts about existential nature of man have been the underlying elements my art. The use of natural and organic material and medium furthers the connection between man and nature as life source. The idea to create multiple entries into the art work with poetic, symbolic and metaphoric references has occupied the treatment and usage of medium like ropes, rusted iron, soil and pages of books.

About Avani Rao:
Avani Rao Gandra, founder, ICONART Contemporary Art Gallery, Hyderabad, did her PhD on Contemporary Andhra Painting from Osmania University. She worked as an art critic for Indian Express and contributed articles to magazines like Marg, Art India, Art Deal, and Indian Art Journal. Since 2009, she has conducted around 70 art shows and workshops, curated 27 art shows on painting, printmaking, sculpture, new media, and installations. As an artist and photographer she has participated in solo and group shows and has been a recipient of Arts Think South Asia fellowship sponsored by German Goethe Centre and British Council (2014 -2015). Had photography solo shows at ICONART Gallery, Hyderabad and Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai. Curated ‘Dialect And Dialogue ‘photography show in historical and public spaces around Charminar for Indian Photography Festival.

Representing a path of self-realisation
Art installation by Sayoni Laha

Mirror, where we can admire our self, it is showing your outer world and your inner world. I want to present a contradiction between our reality and self-reflection “The truth of life”. Mirror is representing of a woman existing beauty and youth. Another side it is reflecting our ugliness, anxiety, so for me mirror is an identity of reality and true self.

The pillar is representing a stability of positivity and negativity of human mind. It has a stronger association with life, to balance our dream and reality.

Present Day
Art installation by Ajit Kumar Mahato

My art work is a Cityscape with Comic Characters. I have attempted to demonstrate my view point on the present life of the urban society in relation to the everyday scenario.It shows Indian contemporary conditions of current political, social and mind-set of the Indian public.

“MAA” Disappearance of Vernacular
Art Installation by Ravi Kumar Porika

My story is about disappearance of mother-tongue from the current generation, they are adapting new languages, especially English is dominating both personal and official spaces in daily life, putting generations of cultural legacy of native languages at stake.

The first word comes from almost any child is ‘Maa’. The hanging of the sarees represents in native languages the word used for ‘mother’ . ‘MAA’ text, emphases the connection between the language and the child – is written in English and native languages. ‘Maa’ texts are represented in smaller size to emphasis the disappearance of vernacular language.

Where Am I ?
Art installation by Sai Sheela

My story is about how a working woman balances career and personal life, especially in terms of motherhood. Here, the woman goes through a lot of changes in her life during the motherhood, in body and in mind. Especially working women are under greater stress. The art installation represents how the natural process of breastfeeding by a mother has been replaced by artificial milk and food products, as a symbol of detachment and guilt. The hanging “CERELAC” boxes represent artificial food that replaces the mothers’ milk.

Unending Pursuit
Art installation by Debabrata Biswas

I want to show the resourcefulness of the mother earth and how mankind is benefitted from it eternally .Humans have always been digging into it and bringing out hidden gems, transforming and spreading knowledge. The art work shows man, his head into the earth digging through the book(knowledge) and spreading it all around him.

The Signifier and Signified
Art installation by Archana Rajguru Biswas

I am using a half unraveled sweater as a metaphor for my concept. Knit by knit , the sweater for me represents a part of a person’s life, the memory entangled with every loop ,and the process of transforming a thread in to a cloth, a piece of a journey frozen in time.

A sweater is made with thousand and thousand of stitches, made with in love and service, something women have always done. Every cloth holds something inside, some mysteries of the maker and the one who used it. Bit by bit one has to develop it, one mistake or one missed loop will unravel it, so with life trials and tribulations. I am using lots of thread, it may be like a net, a trap which holds and pulls back or a connectivity -with all its ambiguous meanings.

Another Solemn Promise
Art installation by Sonali Laha

Promises that we never keep, a cyclical process in our busy lives . Ideas of honesty, faithfulness, thoughtfulness, love, relation are changing – the motor and pester is a representation of time and the blood representing promise.

Fleeting Sparks
Art installation by Sweta Chandra
Materials used: Bamboo, Newspaper, Sound and Steel mechanism

Inspired largely by how a spark can be built up to a fire -metamorphic representation of today’s media trick of selling news and an approach to take the reactions , pro’s and Con’s to a virtual flight. Each feather of the wing in a series reflects an idea to provoke the mundane life and hence the emergence of an idea being the transit of taking situations off the feet.

I would like to sum it up with a quote “The news isn’t there to tell you what happened. It’s there to tell you what it wants you to hear or what it thinks you want to hear.” – Jass Whedon

Of Barbs and Roses
Art Installation by Maredu Ramu

An attempt to know and understand my immediate surrounding s and existential essences is an important aspect of my art. The contradictions of city life, the pain of my personal journey as an artist migrated to the city and the pleasure of exploring the multitude knowledge sources the urban life has to offer form the mainstay of the installation.

A Gift To Hyderabad
Art Installation by Pavan Kumar D

My representation of art whether paintings or installation have remained a response to immediate surroundings or the social life. A GIFT TO HYDERABAD – is about the million year old rock formations around Hyderabad which are being exploited, taking natures gift for granted. Everyone loves to receive gifts and presents and treasure it with love and care. But it is easy and often convenient to forget ‘nature’ gifts, which remains as ever giving, even as it vanishes bit by bit. The Natural world provides less tangible, but just as important, gift in terms of beauty, art and spirituality. I would like to leave a thought by Jonathan Lockwood Huie…” A wonderful gift may not be wrapped as you expect”.

The Lotus Girl
Art installation by Farzona Khanoon

The girl child, women and identity have been the mainstay of my art practice. The installation is a poetic symbolic representation, expression of sensitizing towards empowerment of women with education as essential leveler.

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