From contemporary to upcycled art: how these artists explore new creative frontiers at the CKP exhibitions

In our second photo essay from the art exhibitions at Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath, we share more creative exhibits along with artist insights.

PhotoSparks is a weekly feature from YourStory, with photographs that celebrate the spirit of creativity and innovation. In the earlier 265 posts, we featured an art festival, cartoon gallery. world music festival, telecom expo, millets fair, climate change expo, wildlife conference, startup festival, Diwali rangoli, and jazz festival.

What do you do with the aluminium foil wrapping after you take your tablets? Most of us throw them away, and few put them in recycling bins. But railway engineer Biman Nag has an unusual passion: making art works from discarded medicine foils.

Biman was one of over 20 artists from Bengaluru, Kolkata and Dhaka showcasing their works at two exhibitions in Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath, titled ‘Inner Journey’ and ‘Bengal & Bengaluru.’ The collection ‘Inner Journey’ features the works of five artists: Bidula Nath Basu, Rajib Deyashi, Rina Roy, Sunanda Chakraborty, and Swapan Das.

The 18 artists of ‘Bengal & Bengaluru’ are Babu Jattakar, Rajib Sur Roy, Subrata Ghosh, Subrata Karmakar, Utpal Ghosh, Abhirup De, Aloke Sardar, Anirban Seth, Arindam Haldar, Ayindrila Chatterjee, Barsha Bagchi, Biman Nag, Chaitali Biswas, Diptendu Sil, Kabita Singh, Khalifa Palash, Madhumita Roy, Madhurima Guha, Manimala Dey Basu, Prasanta Modak, Samarendra Kumar Datta, Tanima Bhattacharya, and Tuli Guha.

The recently exhibited works span installations, upcycled art and paintings, priced from Rs 5,000 to Rs 1.3 lakh (see Part I of our photo essay here). There was also a section on miniature art by Dhaka-based Khalifa Palash, who has produced over 600 pieces of such art.

The exhibition was inaugurated by Sonu Mulchandani, founder of eStudio International and curator of the ArtSci Festival at Phoenix Market City, Bengaluru. “India is blessed with a wide range of art, from traditional to contemporary. Art can also have a powerful meditative effect,” said Sonu, in a chat with YourStory

“Creativity is about lifelong learning, but it is also about teaching. We all need to share as we go along. We should all be learners and teachers at the same time,” she added.

“There is beauty even in waste,” said Biman Nag. He said he has been practicing this form of upcycled art for over 30 years. He shapes the art works with discarded aluminium foil, paper and thermocol, with themes like idols.

Biman is a locomotive engineer and also devotes time and creativity to his artistic pursuit. “Don’t pollute the world. Reduce your use of plastic, recycle your waste, or find ways to give it to those who can create something with it,” he urges audiences.

While it is possible to find lucrative opportunities in art, the journey is hard, and the satisfaction goes way beyond monetary returns. “Your job is for your stomach, but art is for the soul,” Biman signs off.

Now what have you done today to pause in your busy life and see how you can not just reduce waste but create wealth out of waste?

Got a creative photograph to share? Email us at [email protected]!

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