‘Urmila – Enchanted Mother’ brings together the works of ten artists and their interpretation of birth, death and the mysteries of life

“Adversity encourages innovation; pain draws out hitherto untapped emotions,” says curator Anu Jindal. Her ongoing online exhibition ‘Urmila – Enchanted Mother’ brings together the works of ten artists from varied genre and media from around the globe.

This exhibition’s theme — mother and the associated sentiments came from the loss of her mother a year ago. 

Based on the theme of ‘mother’, German artist Nils-Udo’s site-specific installations celebrate nature by “drawing with flowers, painting with clouds, writing with water”. “In urban spaces or deep womb of forests, he conjures up a wishful habitat, unblemished by humans,” says the curator. 

Himmat Shah follows his maxim “do or die” in a fiery, unquenched quest. Wondrous as a child’s birth, creations originate from humble clay – his ultimate material. While artist Rameshwar Broota’s magna canvases hide and reveal mysteries of life. In recent experiments with glass and resin, the interplay of altering light conveys musings on birth, growth, the cycle of life. 

Hildegard Westerkamp’s soundscape compositions weave a magical world – a stimulating sound-sensorial experience. Her compositions draw attention to the act of listening to the inner, hidden spaces of the environments we inhabit and to details both familiar and foreign in the soundscape.

Chang-Hoon Woo’s profound paintings delve into the tech-driven tableau of contemporary living. Over the last four decades, the Korean artist has been painting prolifically, mainly in oils, making large canvases replete with vibrant colours and intricate detailing, creating conceptually intense, complex spaces, highlighting, in particular, the high-tech aspects of modern living.

Kavas Kapadia’s delightful cameos of everyday life, rendered in watercolours, display spontaneity and refreshing candour. Ramakrishna Vedala’s poetic portrayal of his mother draws out the spirituality and gentleness of her essence through moist, pigment soaked brushstrokes. 

Prabir Purkyastha’s visions are phantasmagorical journeys to a utopia, which surprisingly is very much our own planet. Also featuring Japanese artist Naoyuki Ishiga, his works translate his fascination with nature into highly intricate, gossamer, lace-like kiri-e or paper-cuts.  

The exhibition also has on display the works of the curator herself. Jindal’s expression has leapfrogged by being orphaned, emerging anew to explore the matrix of the metaphysical. 

The exhibition can be viewed in the website of India International Centre till January 17