Baroda-based artist Nimesh Patel's latest exhibition questions our obsession for perfection. He tells Soma Das how a superstar can bring about a not-so-nice revolution
Baroda-based artist Nimesh Patel's latest exhibition questions our obsession for perfection. He tells Soma Das how a superstar can bring about a not-so-nice revolution
Artist Nimesh Patel was 11 when the Amitabh Bachchan-starreru00a0 Agneepath hit cinemas. The blockbuster went on to become his all-time favourite film, inspiring the Baroda-based artist's latest exhibition. Titled Absolutely
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The Reproduction before the Revolution series depicting, Monalisa |
Fabulous, it depicts human quest for perfection and the pitfalls resulting from it.
A student of the Faculty of Fine Arts, Baroda and recipient of the Lalit Kala Akademi Award, Patel says Bachchan was the obvious choice since his magnetism draws a fan following. For many, his "angry young man" image was a metaphor for perfection.
"In India, everyone dreams of being like Bachchan. What I want to ask is, what if it were possible to achieve such a state? The massive reproduction of this perfection would lead to discontent, eventually a revolution."
Reproduction before the Revolution depicts a photocopy machine that's able to easily transform people into replicas of Amitabh Bachchan, and the way he thinks, so that everyone turns out looking and thinking like one another.
The collection of 19 acrylic paintings on canvas sees Patel source images and pictures from magazines and newspapers, extracting them from their original context and combining them with other elements to lend the work new meaning.
"The obsession to be the best and have it all, disturbs me," says Patel. The solution lies in cherishing individual qualities that make us unique. "Perfect people in a perfect world wouldn't that be boring?"
On view at The Strand Art Room, near Strand Cinema, near Ama House, Colaba.
On: Till May 31, 11 am to 8 pm
Call: 32991008
