THE EASTERN CONFLUENCE, a new group of young, dynamic people with an artistic bent of mind, has come forward confidently to join the cultural mosaic of Assam. As a first step, the group organised an exhibition at Srimanta Sankaradeva Kalakshetra earlier this month, where the participants strived to express themselves through a wide range of paintings, drawings as well as photographs.

Of the most impressive exhibits of the show was Ethnic Violence by Ranjan Engti, which was a grim reminder of the sporadic dance of death in Karbi Anglong. Troubled as he was by intermittent bloodshed, Ranjan reacted in a beautiful way in this small painting. The approach was realistic, with Ranjan artistically presenting the visible part of the violence – humans, especially children, running helter-skelter in the midst of juxtaposed areas of smoky light and eerie darkness, which recreated the feeling of fear.

Another notable painting by the artist was the abstract work in which he could engage the viewer with the patterns of flat colours. The painting looked intriguing, as human faces seemed to emerge out of the melee of sharp-edged geometric shapes, accentuated by the bold, black outlines. Most of other works were figurative, treated in a realistic manner. The application of black-and-white enhanced the melancholic mood that was created by the figure(s) under the guillotine. However, not much attention was paid to maintaining consistency, as his works displayed styles that were greatly diverse.

Pallavi Sarma dealt with profound issues concerning humanity. With powerful symbolism, she specially portrayed the sorry plight of peace and expressed empathy for women. The image of the Buddha with a hollow, skeletal belly, reflected a grim picture of reality. The colours though were too brilliant for such a subject-matter. In fact, the artist showed a tendency to lean on luminance of colours in all her paintings. Although the drawing had strength, the forms were typified and contained a clichéd academic pull as well.

Jinny Barman handled subject-matters that glorified womanhood in Evidence I and II, with the tree imagery bearing feminine attributes, standing as a perfect symbol for capturing the essence of a woman. The inner strength, fecundity, patience, love and kindness… all the virtues associated with a woman, were sought to be condensed into a single image, as the deftly applied colours gave off a positive energy, complementing the theme. In Shattered Tune, the rocks entrenched in the ground seemed to allude to an innate strength, unmoved by the tempestuous pitfalls of life. While After Degas was a tribute to the great master, In Search of Sun was a pictorial dream – with the pair footprints standing for one on the threshold of a meaningful journey, as the sun beckoned at a distance.

Jibesh Chakma showed some well-made digital works. Although his works didn’t quite transcend the medium, the compositions were interesting. They showed that he has the skills to explore the immense possibilities offered by technology. Pranjal P Dutta did a sketchy job in the area of colour application on his landscapes. The colours did not integrate well enough on the surface and they lacked depth due to over-reliance on rawness and luminosity. The other works displayed by him were copies of some European masterpieces, but the copy works too, left a lot to be desired. Kaushiki Sarma put up some portraits which looked like copies, though the use of charcoal was impressive. The experience of using charcoal, which as a medium has great artistic potential, should keep her in good stead, provided she chooses to handle weightier subjects in future.

After the success of this exhibition, which concluded on February 22, some of the works by Jinny Barman, Ranjan Engti and Pallavi Sarma will also be displayed in a group show to be held in Karbi Anglong from February 26, where local artists of Karbi Anglong will also take part.

The photographs displayed alongside the paintings were eye-catching. Dhritiman Deuri, Trailukya Dutta and Amrit Singha could capture the beauty of the region and the life of its people.

d.bezbarua@yahoo.co.in

Debashish Bezbaruah