Sridhar Gangolli, an artist with the concern about the life and the living, is once again on the pitch of art. In each of his works of art, he tries to be fresh and spontaneous. He bats with the objects and bowls some thoughts, thus he makes his art.
The recent work of art by him was an interesting installation at the premises of Alliance Francaise de Bangalore as a part of three days long art exhibition from 27th to 30th August 2010.
This installation was more direct and simple. The objects involved in this ‘silent drama’ enact a story of bitter truth of our situation. The dry mud spread over a paved inner yard of a building hosts an aquarium with live fishes upon half of its portion and the other half provides the space for skeletons of fishes scattered over it. All of these together tell the tale of the water, the essential water.
Here is a striking opposition in the used objects as well as the drama they create together. The dry mud, the skeletons, the water and the fishes are the part of the vital world while the aquarium is purely a man-made object. The dry mud and the skeletons of fish scattered over the mud are symbolic of a dried up lake and they represent a critical condition we are facing with our natural resources, mainly the water. On the other hand, the aquarium is still a source for life and a living space at least for a few fishes, but, in an unnatural way with unnatural and limited space and situations. This juxtaposition with its two different atmospheres unveils the one bare fact which is the artist’s prime concern to care about, and the truth, which the mankind is not much worried or concerned about.
- Rajashekhara Bilvapatri
Art Critic, Bangalore.