Where art we? A new art show at Bandra delves into the role of self in the universe

Amma by Shivani Vyas; Phool by Anuradha Bhaumick

Interchangeably, introspection can be as comforting as it can be disconcerting. The inquiry can betray a restlessness skirting just below the surface but can also be grounding when the actual surety of seemingly happenstance things becomes visible. Really, life is a kaleidoscope of perspectives, and A Small Part of the Big Picture currently showing at Method Bandra takes you through ways of looking at life. At the end of the day isn't that what art really is? An artist, like a friend, calls out to you to come over and look at the horizon from their view. At this show, the horizon is the self.

Join 3 by Koyal Raheja

The exhibition includes the works of embroidery and textile artist Anuradha Bhaumick, and filmmaker and photographer Shivani Vyas whose canvas explores lives interconnected with their own. Architect and artist Tushar Kanoi, visual artist Shreya Parasrampuria, and artist Koyal Raheja dip into perspective and memory, both individual and collective. Each artist's work delves into and beyond the concept of self for a balanced exploration of the vast and minuscule experiences of individual existence in the universe. "The show was curated to explore the idea and the role of the individual self in the bigger scope of our lineage, society and universe. When we speak about something being a sum of its parts, the individual parts are also characterised by a variety of things. The show aims to present diverse interpretations of this theme," shares Sahil Arora, founder and curator.

Sahil Arora

Vyas' paintings of embroidery, acrylic ink and archival prints titled Stitches of Matriarchy comprise works around three women who have been a part of the artist's life, including her grandmother and mother. The delicate flowers and pattern of sequence adorning aspects of the women's lives and photographs are akin to opening your mother or grandmother's closet and picking out well-kept clothes and memorabilia that still carry their sweet scent. Bhaumick's embroidery weaves a similar story as she reaches into lives recorded only in memories, lending them a physical archive. The artists' pieces usher you into stories recalled by people in our own lives, and how we look at their individuality. Kanoi's lino prints draw from personal elusive memory as well as the larger experience of a community. Through her works, Raheja throws focus on the shift of the body from a docile to a dictated one. Lastly, Parasrampuria's works come together with embroidery and photo transfer on muslin fabric. Visually, her art seems to reiterate the exact way memories unfold the past. "We would like for audiences to take a moment and reflect on the things that shape them, and the way they shape constructs larger than themselves," Arora signs off.

Till November 16
At Method Bandra, Chapel Road, Bandra.
Log on to @methodbandra