From Embracing Vulnerability To Telling Tales of Loneliness, Despair, and Discrimination

Iftikar Ahmed

Artists of the week

Artist of the Week is a special category that recognises and highlights the works of talented artists. Each week, two new artists are featured, showcasing their unique styles, techniques, and themes. From emerging artists to established veterans, the Artist of the Week category celebrates creativity and diversity in the art world and provides a platform for artists to share their vision and voice with a wider audience.

Shrimali Jayesh

Art has always been a powerful tool for human expression, capable of conveying emotions and ideas beyond words. For Shrimali Jayesh art is a way to explore and process his personal history, inner feelings, struggles, and anxieties. Through his installations, he unfolds autobiographical memories, the trauma of death, and the absence left by his parents. He uses his art as a way to re-introduce himself to the world and unveil his real self.

Ache, sorrow, grief, and tears are the raw materials of his art practice. These emotions are often stigmatized or repressed in our society, considered as weaknesses or signs of instability. However, He believes that acknowledging and expressing them is a vital part of our human experience. Art allows him to do so in a safe and creative way, without judgment or shame.

His installations are immersive and site-specific, created to interact with the space and the viewer’s senses. By using a variety of materials, such as fabric, light, sound, and found objects, Jayesh creates a multisensory experience that invites the viewer to engage with their own emotions and memories. The installations are not meant to be passive spectacles, but active environments that provoke reflection and dialogue.

Art is not a cure for trauma or mental illness, but it can be a powerful tool for healing and self-discovery. Through His art practice, Jayesh has learned to embrace his own vulnerability and connect with others who share similar experiences. He believes that art has the power to transcend cultural and linguistic barriers and create a shared language of emotions and ideas.

Charudatt Pande

Life is a journey that constantly evolves our needs, ranging from the basic to the social, emotional and personal. Our physical journeys, such as migration and pursuit of happiness, also reflect this evolution. As an artist hailing from a small town in central Maharashtra, Charudatt Pande’s move to Pune, the state’s cultural capital, and subsequent interactions with people from all over the country helped him find his place in life. His artwork reflects this journey, exploring the diversity and stereotypes we see in the media, but also diving deeper into the core of the city and the lives of its people.

Pande’s paintings tell the stories of those who remain behind the screen, stories that often go unseen. He tries to capture the hidden face of society and bring it forth as a storyteller – nothing more and nothing less. Loneliness, despair, and discrimination are all tales that need to be told. By exploring the overlooked aspects of life in Pune, He hopes to create a more authentic and nuanced representation of the city and its people.

Pnde’s artworks try to create a space for the stories of those who are often overlooked or marginalized. His paintings are not just about the people and places they depict, but also about the emotions and experiences that they evoke.