‘Lonely Planet’ exhibition in Hyderabad conveys a stark message

“Did you ever wonder how desolate our planet Earth is becoming by losing its green cover?” ask Hyderabad-based artists in their ongoing art show, ‘Lonely Planet’, at the State Art Gallery. The 68 works by 11 artists comprise paintings, sculptures, photographs, installations and video art – conveying a stark message on the effects of urbanisation on cities/villages and the environmental pollutants’ impact on the biodiversity and ecological processes.

Focus on environment

Harsha Kancharla’s 28 feet (diameter) X 16 feet (height) installation like a chandelier hanging from the ceiling at the entrance, presents the perceptions of the young . The exhibit features 2,000 cotton masks connected with red wool threads, with students’ opinions written on them as text, drawings, poems and paper clippings. “This is an attempt to know the viewpoints of future generations,” says Sriharsha, pursuing her Masters from the University of Hyderabad. Students of Class VI to X from 11 schools including Kanya Gurukul school, Sister Nivedita, Triveni School, Hyderabad Public School, Slate The School and Unison International School participated in this exercise.

Sayam Bharath Yadav’s work ‘ Jeena yahan marna yahan, Iske sivaay jaana kahaan’ focuses on the animal world. “We are getting disconnected from Nature. Rural areas getting urbanized is leading to deforestation.” He adds, “We use helmets to protect our head, why not them,” pointing towards an animal sporting a helmet on the canvas.

Also curating the show, Bharath shares, “I have been living with this idea for eight months now. The other artists were more than enthusiastic to join me on this journey.” His installation – geometrical iron blocks in glossy Duco paints of gold and black on a wooden cart placed on a tree stump highlights the ‘development’ seeping into rural areas.

Depleting open fields

Jaya Prakash Doma’s video art depicts the impact of depleting open fields on livestock. “Cows and buffaloes used to feed on the grass in open lands or fields. Now with these spaces diminishing, these animals feed on garbage; the results can be seen in the hazardous milk we consume,” he says.

By Sabita Lakshmanan
| Photo Credit: Special arrangement

Sabita Lakshmanan’s poem, narrating the story of a peepal tree, leads to her exhibit — a papier-mache lung-shaped sculpture placed on a tree trunk, with dried leaves strewn on it and a bunch of roses placed in front. This work is close to Sabitha Lakshmanan’s heart. “I could save only the tree trunk left on the road and used it for the installation,” recalls the artist who collected 17 bags of dried leaves from KBR Park for the exhibit. “We are not seeing the huge loss that we are creating by cutting a tree. If we don’t provide a future for plants, there is no future for humanity either.”

Celebrating nature

By Mahesh Pottabathini
| Photo Credit: Special arrangement

Lotuses, weaving, tools and human forms create multiple expressions in Mahesh Pottabathini’s works. The artist celebrates Nature in his painting titled ‘Transforming Nature’. Hailing from a weaver’s community, Mahesh often integrates weaving techniques on canvas. A set of blooming lotuses bound by a weaving thread has a girl’s image in the background. He also compares how the lotus motif transforms as a graph. “The blooms of lotus vibrations represent wisdom,” he says.

Colourful shades of Nature create abstract patterns in PJ Stalin’s creative landscapes. “When seen from an aeroplane, objects on earth appear small, spread out and interwoven in patterns, ” says Stalin whose sculpture on geometric forms engages audiences with its bright colour play.

Sharath Mudupu
| Photo Credit: Special arrangement

Sharath Mudupu’s five photographs ‘Panchabhootalu’ metaphorically represent five situations farmers go through. His parents are farmers and his work started over a decade ago as a rural landscape project. “ My focus was to highlight different emotions and the hope farmers still harbour, despite the struggles they face every day,” he says. Pointing to a photograph of a pigeon holding onto a balcony net, he says, “The owner had put thorns so that the birds do not sit at the window. Does this planet belong only to humans.”

Jangaiah Polepogu
| Photo Credit: Special arrangement

Jangaiah Polepogu’s oil painting looks at different stages of human evolution and how early humans used weapons only to hunt for food. “Now countries have nuclear weapons of mass destruction. We have forgotten the horrors of Hiroshima.” His black and white drawings include one of the chimpanzees holding a skull. “Only these are left after the mass destruction. Weapons do not protect a country; only humanity does.”

Ramesh Baikani
| Photo Credit: Special arrangement

Ramesh Baikani’s acrylic and oil painting of a baby with a mask and a barcode tells the tale of our times. “We get oxygen for free from Nature but, ironically, we had to buy oxygen during the second wave of COVID-19.” He explores the topic further with a focus on deforestation in a fibre sculpture showing a baby.

Thrigulla Murali
| Photo Credit: Special arrangement

Thrigulla Murali’s work shows a truck with a dead car zooming off to the recycler’s bin. With a passion for automobiles, the artist says, “If the automotive sector can spend at least 10 % of the money they spend on research and development, on researching how to recycle and reuse, we can create a sustainable mechanism for transportation.”

Uma Vegesina
| Photo Credit: Special arrangement

Uma Vegesina’s protagonist is a woman conjoined with nature. Her oil on canvas and mixed media and water colour on rice paper depicts a woman with other creatures, flora and fauna suffering and celebrating her life. “The colours, which permeate these works are often resonances of my own emotional state of being,” she says.

(The Lonely Planet exhibition is on at State Art Gallery till March 27)