Durga Kainthola, a Multi-Media Visual artist, studied Bachelor of Fine Arts(BFA), 1987 from Sir. J.J. School of Art. Mumbai and Master Of Fine Arts(M.F.A), 1989. M. S. University. Vadodara.
“Tales of scream, that withered away in silent tears”, works done during the Pandemic.
My work centers around documentation of history and contemporary tales.
Documenting art inspired and influenced by the pandemic, is a tribute to those who passed away, suffering from COVID-19; being breathless and waiting for ventilators, in overcrowded hospitals, with scarcity of nurses, without their loved ones around and passing away in silence. It is hard to believe how quickly the world changed, almost overnight, people cooped up in their homes because venturing outside became a terrifying ordeal.
The haunting silence on the road, life stood still, reminding one of Dali’s surrealist paintings “Persistence of memory”, where time stood still. It was an experience of a lifetime, a nightmare, horrors of insanity, an unending tragedy after tragedies, an unforgettable period.
During this Pandemic, news media took over our lives with live telecast, watching TV was disheartening. The empty and quiet roads led to the lowest pollution level in metropolitan cities . The migrant workers felt that their life would be safe if they moved towards their home, village and towns . Life resembled a feeling of house imprisonment for months during lockdown. The works done during this period, forced us to view life in retrospect.
They walked miles for days to reach their homes in faraway places because transport came to a halt too. The news captured images of the plight of the migrants with a saddening loss of life. I captured Newspaper clippings of Covid-19, formed collages, glued to 12 sets of feet narrating tales of “Padayatras”. These feet were casted in fiber glass in 1997 and dumped in a jute sack for years, used at last, narrating, representing migrant workers’ feet with tales of life at a stake.
My studio is a few miles away from home but I could not go there during Lockdown. I turned towards the unfinished works that lay in the cupboard for years in my residence. I found a few digital prints of Amrita Shergil and decided to participate in Mojarto’s ORA. The deadline was extended, and it made the online presentation even more tempting. The work “Portrait of Amrita Shergil “, began with stitching three portraits together and a sewing machine, which was unused for years in my house for was finally used, it was in bad shape but tried my best and succeeded in putting it together and enhancing it with laces. I was selected and amongst the ten finalists.
The next work of art was a wicker chair seat that had withered away so to discard it I decided to cut it out and once I placed it on the floor it took the shape of a blouse. I used a 22-year-old glass window to mount this and titled the work “Re-structuring Life”.
There were a few Tie and Dye prints on handmade paper, done in a workshop in Mumbai a few years back that was rolled and forgotten, finally was put together, a work was evolved, using dried banyan leaves, an envelope, and a few stamps lying around in my notebook. These works were put into frames with LED lights titled “From Darkness to light”.
I also painted a few Miniature paintings in round shape, depicting the world, as the situation was similar all over the world, done to depict the state of Covid-19, which led to many deaths and conservation for better fresh air is the need of the hour for all.
This is how I document the social issues that affect my life as a Visual artist.
