Using brushstrokes and rich embroidery, a Delhi-based artist has fabricated a 'universe' on canvas where the real meets the surreal, while weaving a tapestry of artistic narrative that "we are all cut from the same cloth".
About forty artworks, including 15 embroidery embellished works, by artist Seema Kohli are part of the exhibition that opened on July 28 at Bikaner House here.
The exhibition, 'Cut from the Same Cloth', through its artworks across disciplines, also portrays the feminine power and the "womb of cosmic energy and existence" that the world emanates from.
The 15 embroidery-based artworks, large and small-scale, have been executed on "raw untreated canvas with silk and cotton threads, glass beads, and sequins", the organisers said.
"It took her six years to come up with the embroidery works, and they have been created for this exhibition. The thread and needle artworks are created in collaboration with craftsmen through Raj Art Initiative," a member of the organising team said.
Kohli, when asked about the larger narrative of her project, told PTI, "The larger narrative is that there is no difference between you and me. There is no other. Everything is connected. We cannot disintegrate each other, and think that we are different, we are not... We are part of the same womb, the same consciousness, cut from the same cloth".
"The larger message of this exhibition is that there is one single bloodline running through all of us, living or non-living. Everyone is the same," she said.
The 63-year-old added that cases of conflict between humans or communities does affect her, both as a human being and as an artist.
"My only way of expression is art and beauty and love. I do not talk about anything else. There is no question beyond love. And, art is a thread that can bind the fabric of life. I do believe in that," she said.
Besides embroidery, there are three large paintings, and 18 drawings done with gold leaf and ink on archival paper which depict the instruments and material used in the process of creating these artworks.
The depiction of women as a cosmic source of energy and power seeks to blur the boundary between the real and the surreal.
In one embroidery artwork, a group of women in their free-spirited avatar have been portrayed riding dragons, while in another work in the same medium, a 'woman with wings' is shown poised in the air with Pegasus-like winged horses prancing in the background.
In 'Altered Reality', the artist, using silk and cotton threads, beads, and sequins, has created a sort of an 'alternate universe' with woman power being at the core and periphery of the artwork.
The dimension of 'Altered Reality' is 87.75 inch x 122.5 inch, making it the largest among all the artworks on display, the organisers said.
UK's High Commissioner in India, Alex Ellis, had attended a special preview of the exhibition on July 28, a day before it was thrown open to the public, and particularly admired this display, which catches the eye owing to its sheer size and the use of vibrant colours in it.
Praising the "vibrant" culture and diversity of India that has been attracting people from all over the world, the UK envoy said, "India is a unique country to bring the world to it. And, India has always fascinated the rest of the world, because of this (art, culture)... because of its different shapes and styles, colours, and it attracts people".
At the art exhibition in Delhi, high commissioner Ellis also shared how art lets him understand India more.
"Anyone who comes from the outside... I come from the UK, you are very curious about a new country, what is the country about. How do I understand this country. And, one way to look at a country is to look at its art. So it's fantastic to have artists who can interpret art," Ellis told PTI.
On Thursday, a "multidimensional performance that brings together animation, music, poetry, and movement" will also be hosted at the amphitheatre of the Bikaner House as part of the show, organisers said.
Kohli artworks are also complemented with lyrics of a 'Baul' song written on walls, the words woven around the philosophical theme of a weaver's work.
"This body which we embody as the first robe to the last shroud," reads a poetic line streaked across a wall in the corridor of the gallery in bold letters, drawing visitors into the arts that awaits them inside.
The exhibition closes on August 4.
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