TV Santhosh's new show in Mumbai brings back his perspectives of a society in turmoil

Untitled 2022, watercolour on paper

Tension is necessary for great art. From William Shakespeare's Hamlet to the streaks on Pablo Picasso's iconic Guernica, artistic expression has often burst forth in fraught moments of challenges faced by its characters or creators. For TV Santhosh, it has been the norm in his creations. The Santiniketan-graduate will return to the city for his first show since 2008 with another series of artworks and sculptures titled History Lab and the Elegy of Visceral Incantations, that dives deep into the imprints left by the chaos on social media, tensions around the world and the increasingly skewed perspectives across society.

Describing the long hiatus, the Mumbai-based Santhosh says, "I am not a very prolific artist. I like to take my time with my creations. Moreover, it is not that easy to create a series for a solo show. You need a larger idea to come together. You need to contextualise it." This context emerges through the nature of conflict around us. For the 55-year-old, they are defining experiences that shape us as individuals. "The world is, in a way, entering our drawing room through diverse mediums of consumption. These may even be second-hand experiences, but we are exposed to these turbulent social realities on an everyday basis, perhaps even every minute owing to our mobile phones," he points out.

Protagonist and his Clock of Apocalypse

This constant information overload is what the artist focuses on. "It changes the way we perceive and communicate our reality. Sometimes, it is a reality that we have experienced through the media," he points out. Santhosh remarks that his works only hold up a mirror to reality. This thought stitches together the series of artworks and sculptures to be displayed at the Special Projects Space at the Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum. When we wonder about the coincidence of an artwork inspired by historical conflict being displayed in a museum, Santhosh disagrees. He says, "The works themselves are distinct from the space. They do not mirror or reflect its context in that sense, and are displayed in the special project space."

While the series of paintings were created over the period of two to three years, the artist has been working on one of the sculptures on and off since 2011. "There are some works you keep returning to. This was one of them. It depicts the history of the constant economic upheavals that have taken place over the last decade," he remarks.

TV Santhosh

Despite showcasing his works across the globe, Santhosh remains an elusive figure for Mumbai. Any particular reason, we prod. "It so happened that I was travelling, and then again, I work at my own pace, which makes the show rare. But I plan to host a few more shows in the city now," he shares. Of course, if conflict be the food of his art, there is enough for him right now to play on.

ON December 12, 6 pm to 8 pm (preview); December 14 to February 11, 2024 (except Wednesdays), 10 am to 5.30 pm
AT Special Projects Space, Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum, Byculla.
FREE