Architect artist Rohit Raj Mehndiratta has succinctly expressed the features of constant struggle for "inner realm" that he undergoes while attempting to co-exist with external reality through art, in his debut exhibition here.
"(Un) Fettered"- a collection of paintings in acrylic on canvass and pen and ink on paper, represents the artist's desire to give form to these inner-landscapes, their co-existence and conflict with the external world.
The artist has painted the fluidity of one's "inner reality"- which has no spatial limit or concept of time and is constantly shifting, from moment to moment.
"(Un) fettered alludes to the opening up of our consciousness through time: the process of us slowly releasing our inhibitions through time," says Mehndiratta who is a practicing architect.
"Stretch a second", a digital print on canvass is one of the master-pieces of his recent art works that talks about the multiple thoughts that pass by within a second.
"The idea to portray this was taken from the constant desire to dig deep into inner consciousness and bring those moments out," says Mehndiratta.
A series titled "Moments- I, II and III" is a visual treat
Of profound colours in red and black which instantly captures a viewer's gaze and talks about three different moments which the artist has tried to capture on the canvass.
"'Moments' are an effort to make timeless intense emotive moments and the inner spatial form that emerges in that instance," says Mehndiratta who has been inspired by the idea of dichotomy that emerges when the world is urged to seek stability outside in the 'other space'.
The artist has played with the concept of constant state
of motion as it moulds, moves, fuses and contorts his imagination from moment to moment. He has invited the viewer to share and experience the spatial intensity of moments which otherwise are confined to the inner realm.
"Unravel", his sketches in pen and ink with a white background and strands of black talks about his understanding of relationships which one adopts through time in life.
"Unravel alludes to the different personalities/ mental positions we all adopt for different circumstances and relationships through time making us complete individuals," Mehndiratta says while taking about his paintings at Alliance Francaise de Delhi.
"Pockets of Memory" along with "Albatross", "Stats" and "Weather" are some of his other works in the exhibition which unravels the idea of where the history starts and the concept of memory attached to it.
"'Pockets of Memory' represents the working of memory. How different remembrances acquire different emotional hues and become literally closets that open up when we choose to remember," says the artist.
The artist's interest in the domain of visual urban representation led him to create his first exhibition called "Placed Settings", in New York City where he explored the idea of identity and the city through photography.
The exhibition is on display at Alliance Franciase here till August 30.
