FACTUAL FICTIONS - Solo Show @ Gallery Veda, Chennai 2016

FACTUAL FICTIONS

Venugopal’s visual language reflects a seamless assimilation of varied elements over the period of his practice, pertaining to concept, content and technique. A central theme in his work has been the exploration of urbanism, often routed through his personal experience. Underlying the imagery of a built landscape is a deep engagement with notions of displacement and migration, and questions of home, belonging and identity, that are shared feelings in this world of trans-national and trans-regional entities. The artist’s paintings appear to be built around the understanding of reality and its transmutation into imaginary narratives through creative devices. His process involves a remarkable ability to continually disintegrate and reassemble aspects of his environment, manipulating meanings and making fictional worlds from factual experiences.

Space is treated in an elastic way in many of the works, drawing attention to the forced sharing of space in largely overburdened cities. The work ‘In Bloom’ (2014) with its starkly painted flower pot, epitomizes the idea, wherein the blooms become receptacles of massive towers. In ‘Transit’ (2015), the burgeoning load of city detritus is within a wheel-barrow, this time partially masked and concealed within drapes, but recognizable by shapes nonetheless. The pervasive idea of instability is carried through not only by absurd juxtapositions and playfulness of scale, but also by the repetitive imagery of constantly moving, traveling persons, carrying their own loads and belongings. Where are they going? Where have they come from? Who are they? These are some of the questions that play on the mind when viewing the entire ‘Transit’ series of works. The protagonists ‘suspended in animation’ are anonymous and sometimes disembodied beings, invisible if not for an outline. Deepening the commentary on the homogenizing characteristic of a city, and the vulnerability of citizens, Venugopal has experimented with a new technique of strategically cut paper over abstracted washes. In these floating worlds, revelation and concealment are once again emphasized.  

Past, present and future mingle within almost surreal settings in works like ‘Green Carpet’ (2015) and ‘Contemplate’ (2016). In the former, an overwhelming grass coated stairway, remembered from a childhood dwelling leads to a dwarfed cityscape in the distant sky-space; in the latter, assorted fragments of everyday life sit on cloud-forms, while in the forefront a decrepit chair balances a leafless tree, and a pair or wringing hands overwhelm the eye. 

In his current compilation, Venugopal V G continues to map horizons, both his own and of the millions he shares physical, emotional and psychological space with. 

Lina Vincent Sunish 2016

Gallery Views:

Press Clippings:

'The Limited Edition' - Printmaking Workshop and Exhibition, Art Houz, Bangalore

'MORPHOLOGY OF ARCHIVE - Connected Histories of Goa', Inaugural show of Museum of Goa curated by Sabitha T.P. and Lina Vincent

Goa, referred as Gomantak signifies a land similar to Paradise which is fertile and good waters has its mythical connection since Vedic times. From these references ‘Lord Parashurama’ shot an arrow into the Arabian Sea from the Western Ghats reclaiming the beautiful land of Gomant, thus becoming a significant character in the history of present day Goa. In the subsequent years Goa came under the rule of Mauryas, Kadambas, Chalukyas, Vijayanagar Empire and also the Sultan of Bijapur before it was conquered by the Portuguese. Considering the milestones and the chronology of historical events, Alfonso de Albuquerque has been one of the biggest names who influenced the land of Goa. Considering its geographical positioning, the water (Sea) becomes the major connecting element right from the mythological references of its creation, the trade links established by various rulers and the cultural associations it had for hundreds of years.

'Of Tides and Times...' created for the inaugural show of MoG, 'Morphology of Archive - Connected Histories of Goa' is a narrative panoramic composition with ‘Sea’ as a connecting element through the length of the work. The important characters associated with the history, mainly Parashurama and Albuquerque have been portrayed as major images linking chronology of the history. The reference image of Parashurama is been taken from a miniature styled unknown source and Albuquerque’s portraiture depicted in one of the Portuguese currency becomes another important reference material. Some of the important landmarks which remain as the testimony of the multi-faceted history of the region has been incorporated and become the linking elements for the panoramic composition. 

'TWENTY for TWENTY', The Portret Project, New Delhi 2015

Our urban neighborhood is full of faces; known and unknown. The significant issues associated to urban reality like identity, migration, adaptability, and transformation are part of this existence. The urban visual culture includes a large volume of cinema posters which are highly influential on our day-to-day life and also an appropriate metaphor for urban existence. The overlaid layers of images resulting in a constant alteration of identity and the element of abstraction they bring in as a natural occurrence are often intriguing and surreal. A further fragmentation and re-assembling of these images using the interlocking shapes, transforms the overall image of portraits into another level of thought-provoking visual experience.