Our Reporter
Dimapur, Nov. 26 (EMN): An art exhibition titled ‘Fertility art exhibition’ initiated by six Naga contemporary artists namely Limatola Longkumer, Jimmy Mahapatra Chishi, Throngkiuba Yimkhuing, Mhasiselhu Viyie, Akup Buchem and Panger Onen Aier was opened on Saturday at the Nagaland Art Centre of IMC Hall in Dimapur.
Chishi said the exhibition titled "fertility" is about the criticality of the now and the exuberant spirit of life itself. He said, “A fertile mind, body and spirit make a healthy self as much as a healthy society.”
According to Chishi, the contemporary lies somewhere in the middle between the past and the future. He has likened to the middle part of a tree from where it grows up and down. In much the same way, Naga contemporary art locates itself in the middle from where the exhibition titled fertility attempts to engage with the present, he said.
Naga contemporary art, he said, is at a crossroads and needs to fortify this journey of Naga aesthetics via its multidisciplinary interventions. Fertility places itself in this context by putting forth artworks by six contemporary artists from diverse backgrounds, he added.
"Although this exhibition is set in the mundaneness of the present, it delves deep into the lush green past of myths and stories as well as the golden beams of the future, merging these into worlds relative and interactive. What brings together these artworks is their inquisitiveness towards a sort of newness that represents the locality of observations, a shared bloodline, and an aesthetic that is wound deep in a glocal Naganess emanating from within," Chishi expounded.
Chishi expressed hope that the artworks would bring forth an automatic impulse to connect the dots towards an aesthetic experience much like 500 million years of love or the immeasurable universe.
Limatola Longkumer is a self taught visual artist who challenges conventions and stands against all repressive forces of the society by speaking through art about taboo subjects in sex and sensuality. Her works included monochrome line art in mixed media and is often layered with symbolism. She wanted to inspire the viewers to weave a pure interpretation through her inspiration from nature, music, women and love.
Jimmy Mahapatra Chishi is an artist and visual arts scholar whose art finds expression through painting, sculpture and puppetry. His art is inspired by the folk art traditions of Northeast India. He has received awards from the Ministry of Culture, Lalit Kala Akademi and NEZCC for puppetry and painting. His art projects find space in various collections in India and abroad.
Throngkiuba Yimkhuing is the founder of DeConstructing Morung, an artist residency space and project collaborator, based in Dimapur. Some of his exhibitions and residencies included Khoj Peers 2018, Khoj international artists associations Delhi 2018, BetOnest Artist residency East Brandenburg Germany 2017, Busan International art fair South Korea 2022 to name a few. He was also a jury member at ApexArt New York 2019-21 and his upcoming show is at India Art Fair 2023.
Mhasiselhu Viyie is a sculptor whose works project the grace and beauty of nature as well as the rapidly degrading natural landscape of Nagaland. His works are intended to create awareness among viewers and trigger questions and concerns on nature and its contemporary issues. He works extensively with wood, which can be recognised as having an ancestry that is rooted in his cultural identity.
Akup Buchem's art draws on his interest in memory, change, history, urbanisation and landscape. As a multidisciplinary artist, his diverse experimental artworks create an intervention binary position of the grand narrative of the present refuting the self reflection of the local narrative. His works have been showcase at various exhibitions which included solo exhibition 'Seeing beyond' 2010, Indian Art Fair 2022, and Serendipity Arts Festival Goa 2019 to name a few.
Panger Onen Aier is a self taught artist from Mokokchung who works with various mediums in the discipline of sculpture, painting, drawing and printmaking. He has been applying a modern approach to exploring the traditional motifs and symbols of Naga culture. His works have been collected by various private agencies, NEZCC, Lalit Kala Akademi among others and he is deeply interested in exploring traditional Naga iconography and expressing them via a modernist lens.
The art exhibition will continue till December 12, which will be opened from 11 am to 5 pm.