Erewhon: Five young artists exhibit at Jehangir

Erewhon? Does that ring a bell? No way! Or shall we say, YawOn?

Yes, you guessed it, the title of this group exhibition at Jehangir Art Gallery is an anagram of “Nowhere”. But it’s not just another fancy title, rather it is a much thoughtful one. The thought behind the show unfolds as one walks through and witnesses the depth of the presentation.

The thematic title “Erewhon” is adopted from one of Samuel Butler’s novel by the same title, which describes a notional utopian place. It stems from real experiences but is very personal, twisted, exaggerated and void. Through this group exhibition, five young artists – all alumni of Mumbai’s prime art institution J J School of Art – are trying to depict a similar idea. They represent a young generation for whom technological proliferation of human life and rapid urbanization have become staple realities. All such rapid transitions in human society have brought about many catastrophic changes in human life resulting into chaos and vacuum on the emotional front. This has resulted into suppression of emotions and freedom of expression.

The five artists in this show – Abhijit Ghodvinde, Akshata Mokashi, Anil Chouhan, Hemant Gavankar and Pooja Shinde – have effectively brought out their expression through art addressing these current issues, each one through their unique style and methods.

Abhijit is an observant portrait painter who has presented his paintings, depicting anonymous human bodies in dream-like sequences.

Akshata is a textile artist who passionately creates intricate weavings and tapestries. She has creatively used textiles for expression of self and nature.

Anil Chouhan is a trained artist as well as art educator continuing his doctoral research on Buddhist iconography. He has presented paintings on the theme of Urbanization.

Hemant Gavankar is a visual artist as well as poet. Through his paintings he has presented the absurdity of human interaction in urban spaces and nature.

Pooja Shinde, a bright printmaking artist has presented her paper etching works which have re-created interesting but often unnoticed places and structures from and around Mumbai.

The group show provides an opportunity to art lovers to re-connect with their inner voice and suppressed emotions, which are the results of rampant changes in everyone’s life. These five young artists have given a thoughtful yet fresh outlook to the issues of urbanization which is worth experiencing. The exhibition is on upto 29^th May 2023 and is open to public at Jehangir art gallery between 11 AM and 7 PM.