The foliage looses its green and the human faces acquire a new perspective as they get seen, in the woodcut world crafted by contemporary artist Chandan Bez Baruah. As part of his ongoing solo exhibition titled Elsewhere In Northeast India, 20 artworks depict how this Assam-based artist expresses everything in a darker shade.
Guwahati-based artist Chandan Bez Baruah captures the saints outside Kamakhya Temple in this work, displayed as part of his ongoing solo show.
“Black is the supreme colour, which has all colours in it. I’m very comfortable with black,” says the 43-year-old while explaining how the Northeast landscapes and its urbananisation found a voice in his art. “I was all of three when I lost my mother, and my family shifted from Nagaon to Guwahati. It was here that the landscape forced me to see things differently. Later, I lived in Delhi for 12 to 15 years and here too my childhood stories followed me,” adds Baruah, who pursued his formal education in printmaking and now polishes his skills through the medium of wood.
But this isn’t the first time that his “nostalgic affinities” have come into play. In fact, this art show is the “third phase in the series”, for which he started working in 2021.
The trees captured through the medium of woodcut acquire a dark look in the works of contemporary artist Chandan Bez Baruah.
Curated by Waswo X Waswo, the exhibits speak of the moments in time that Baruah wants to share with the world as a felt experience. “When I came to Delhi from Guwahati, I again became lonely. That’s when my nostalgic affinities towards landscape helped me to come out of the depressing thoughts. I started working on woodcuts to show the emotions that I was going through… I chose woodcuts because it was the demand of the subject, and this medium is a dying process. Having learned printmaking, I felt it was my duty to serve this medium in some way.”
Baruah’s works thus comprise landscapes that got captured by his keen eye, and amid these the viewers can also find some saints outside the Kamakhya Temple, which appear in stark contrast to the bulldozers, trucks collecting garbage and chain-link fence. “Just like the trees, those saints also speak to me. One of them looked at me in a way that it seemed he’s saying he knows me much more… When I see something like this, I click a photo and then come to my studio to create a large image of the photo onto the wooden surface. I like to keep it large so that its details and originality is retained. When I begin to cut it on wood, it’s purely on the basis of my experience and emotional reinterpretation of what I was suffering when I clicked that photo.”
While all might seem serene in the garb of black, the undercurrent of chaos continues in most of Baruah’s portrayal of landscapes. Is this a way to compel the viewers to see through the conflict in Nature vs urbanisation?
Catch It Live
What: Elsewhere In Northeast India
Where: Shridharani Gallery, Triveni Kala Sangam, 205 Tansen Marg (August 12 to 20) & LATITUDE 28, 208, Lado Sarai (August 25 to September 20)
Timing: 11am to 7pm
Nearest Metro Station: Mandi House on the Blue and Violet Lines & Saket on the Yellow Line
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