Exploring the city and its relationship with its people, these artworks by young talents are a reflection of the sense of imbalance and claustrophobia in an urban setting

Distorted buildings on shaky foundations; unplanned cities with houses stacked one on top of the other, where there is no human presence — canvassing many such scenes from the city, here’s an exhibition that seeks to capture the reality of today’s world.

Titled on the Threshold of Time, Art Heritage organises this exhibition every year to promote young and emerging artists. The works selected for the show have either been spotted by the gallery at various colleges of art or brought to their notice by young artists themselves.

Titled Urbania, this edition focuses on the city and its inhabitants. The exhibition quite aptly captures the lives of the city dwellers and role of the city from different perspectives, along with the relationship between the two.

Some of the heavily detailed works give a sense of a city’s massive scale and its ever-increasing population, portraying the lack of privacy and the existence of claustrophobia. “Expressions of anxiety, some overt, other not, are presented in metaphors like an exploding pressure cooker, or the tension exerted by new technology like the mobile phone,” reads the note of the exhibition.

Though the artists are chosen from all over India and work in disparate mediums, the artworks showcased express common themes. The works feature several thoughts — a deep sense of concern on how individuals absorb or get swayed by external city influences, a sense of isolation despite the fact that one is constantly surrounded by people, and the impact of cities on the environment.

This uniformity of themes in the exhibitions speaks to the younger generation. Yet, not losing all faith, the exhibition also displays hope in everyday city life through the simply joys of playing with a top or riding a bicycle with friends, or even the exploration of professional fields.

Apart from the artworks, the exhibition is also specially designed to provide an immersive experience. Urbania not only includes artworks that are aesthetically superior, but the ones that also engage with our times.

The exhibition is on display
at Triveni Kala Sangam till
May 4.