Of wit and wisdom

Art Chennai gets an intriguing twist with installations and cartoons

On the fourth day of Art Chennai, the sessions get intriguing. At Expresss Avenue, the entrance and atrium are crowded with curious passersby and art lovers. There are dubbas hanging from metal bars, microphones stacked on a red table, and a large screen that showcases a lovely mustard field. Of course, this is just at first glance. Meanwhile, at Burgundy's, everyone is having a hearty laugh at Biswajit's witty cartoons.

Biswajit Balasubramanian

At Burgundy's, everyone is having a light evening, wine glasses in hand and wide smiles on their faces. The reason? Biswajit's witty cartoons of everyday situations. There are a few from his Malini series for The Hindu's Retail Plus, some from the music season, and others from a film magazine he contributed to.

In Biswajit's cartoons, it's often not the main character that delivers the punch. Three dancers at a performance hold out boards of their sponsors, standing in various dance poses. The sponsors vary from banks to cellphone service providers. At one corner of the stage, a Natraja statue (the main sponsor being Lord Shiva Dance University!) laments: I say, don't you think they are carrying this sponsorship thing a bit too far? In a few others, the accompanying artistes are bored and the lead performer is too busy posing for cameras to concentrate on the performance. The art gallery series shows a family munching on the food rather than being interested in the art, while other art lovers look on scornfully.

Sometimes it's nice to have a character on the periphery saying things, says the artiste. It's often these people who see the joke while the actual performers don't. He also has a few strips for a technology series. Sample this a newborn, lifted out of his mother's stomach comes with a USB cord rather than an umbilical cord. Inspiration can come from anywhere or anyone. Wherever you go and whatever you observe can be an idea for a cartoon. I visit art galleries a lot, and make cartoons out of what I see. There is a cartoon on how art lovers decipher a work, coming up with ideas that even the artist wouldn't have thought of. These are just observations, he says.

(Biswajit's cartoons are on display till March 18)

Bose Krishnamachari and Sheba Chhachhi

I peep across the escalator near Express Avenue's atrium, and notice the fringes of a red carpet, with a large, red table in the centre. Move a little ahead, and you're blown away. Thirteen regal white chairs whose top half end in geometric post-modern buildings surround the table on three sides. And the table itself is covered by microphones as if the purpose is to call for a conference of world leaders, their chairs patiently awaiting them.

Bose Krishnamachari's minimalistic design on a larger-than-life installation creates quite an impact. In the installation White Builders and the Red Carpets', there are allusions to the media's role in the global economy is everything news? Or, are we just pawns in a bigger plan? The 13 chairs also talk of religion's influence in the world; alluding to The Last Supper. Wires from the 100-odd microphones end in a pile on the carpet, reminiscent of the chaos in this world.

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Of wit and wisdom