Dipak Ankalkhope through his artworks specially from the Shetambari series is a very personal introspect on life and struggles of Farmers in today’s society. Exuding empathy from the canvas, Dipak—a farmer’s son—is at home with acrylic on flat medium in his unembellished but visually arresting storytelling.
Another poignant facet of a farmer’s life is the duality they endure: moments of some joy or act that might balance periods full of hardship, like in his “Shetambari” series which are highlighted at the solo show at Jehangir Art Gallery in Mumbai. The role that a farm plays in our very survival is not just central to the story, but in aim with the look of the series ─ almost as if its being grown blow-by-blow before your eyes. Dipak incorporates loud colours, textures and compositions into his images which depict the struggles and triumphs he constantly witnesses farmers go through each day.
His canvases commonly display intense colours, such as the bright oranges and deep greens representing farming’s toil and yield. Themes like tree roots or random metaphoric crops dominate his compositions time and again, emulsifying the seemingly natural link shared by farmers with soils they till or tools they employ. Each, a union of raw textures and layered patterns, reflects the physical labor in farm work as well as the emotional layers of being a farmer — endurance, sacrifice, spirit.
Currently pursuing a Ph. Possessing a Ph.D. in visual arts, Dipak is putting his foundation to good use addressing the problems faced by struggling farmers than merely an act of aesthetics. His works serve as visual haikus to their tenacious nature and call upon us all to reflect on the major part farmers play in society, through exposing the unseen aspects of occupations that we too often take for granted. Dipak Ankalkhope speaks about the physical and psychological space of survival which is woven through his work, he creates a vivid language of visuals in an age where farmers are still relevant.
Iftikar Ahmed is a New Delhi-based art writer & researcher.
