Five young artists from across the country have been selected for the 12th residency programme of artists collective Khoj, which offers opportunities of exchange and dialogue for art and design students.
Through its annual Peers residency, the Khoj International Artists' Association provides mentorship to recent graduates and masters students from various art and design institutes across the country.
The five artists selected include Digbijayee Khatua (College of Art, Delhi), Faiza Hasan (Sarojini Naidu School of Arts and Communication, Hyderabad), Mithun Das (Kala Bhavan, Shantiniketan), Shailesh BR (Maharaja Sayajirao University, Baroda) and Utsa Hazarika (University of Cambridge, UK).
The critic-in residence is Mario D' Souza and an exhibition of their works is scheduled to open at Khoj Studios here from June 25 and go on till June 28.
"Peers is one of Khoj's pioneering programmes and is a unique residency model, closely curated for recent graduates and young artists starting their professional careers. The aim is to provide infrastructure, inspiration and mentorship to emerging artists and art practices," says Promona Sengupta, program manager.
Digbijayee Khatua uses burnt matchsticks and paper as his main medium.
"In addition, I have decided to work with photographs and found objects from the Khiriki village - old wooden frames, water bottles, egg cartons, flower vases, etc. Burnt matchsticks serve as a metaphor for the combustible city and its colossal constructs.
I work with different forms and shapes, particularly geometric ones in the process of exploring dichotomies I find inherent to individual and societal psyche. My work depicts the contrast and diversity between rural and urban existences in close proximity. These images are sometimes shown in single frames, or otherwise fragmented or spilling out of their frames," says the artist.
Faiza Hasan's project borrows largely from medical illustrations of the 18th century, as well as those that came later, particularly those that illustrate the different aspects of optometry.
