Unseen Frameworks: Contemporary Artists Dissect Modern Existence in Hyderabad

Structural Analysis Through Artistic Expression

The Dhi Contemporary gallery in Madhapur is currently hosting a group exhibition titled Protocols of Living, scheduled to remain open until August 3. This showcase features four emerging Indian artists whose diverse medium choices analyze the systems that dictate daily human life. Instead of providing direct representations of governance or social order, the artists focus on the scars left behind by displacement, fragmented communication, and human-altered landscapes. Art docent Shreya Subrahmanyam notes that the display aims to illuminate the unnoticed frameworks that regulate our routines.

Plagues, Memory, and the Human Interface

Artist Gayathri T Santhosh presents Against the Invisible, a mixed-media installation utilizing watercolor, hand-stitching on paper, and archival maps. Her research connects the 1896 Bombay Plague and the 1898 Calcutta Plague with the modern COVID-19 pandemic to study collective trauma. Santhosh employs cross-embroidery as a method to catalog loss, while her piece Route Map of an Invisible Enemy uses azo-dye techniques and cyclical stitching to represent the repetitive pursuit of survival. Her work also integrates fly imagery as a symbol for the carriers of shared tragedy.

Land, Ritual, and Public Decay

Cultural continuity and indigenous kinship serve as the foundation for Prajwal Naitam's contributions. A member of the Gond tribal community, Naitam uses soil and acrylic on paper to highlight oral traditions and the Bada Dev Gango Pooja ritual involving the Mahua tree. His work challenges mainstream developmental systems by drawing on ancestral knowledge.

Subhendu Karmakar shifts the focus to the physical degradation of shared infrastructure. Utilizing iron sheets, dust, and acrylic paint, he examines public spaces such as toilets to illustrate the friction between maintenance and neglect. Karmakar views the accumulation of rust and stains as a metaphor for the slow shifts occurring within communities.

The Conflict Between Progress and Presence

Soumen Ray offers a dialogue between two contrasting works: The Event and Absent. While The Event depicts a gathering of dogs as a representation of rural human assemblies, Absent turns toward a muted-grey palette to critique rapid development. Ray utilizes imagery of deserted playgrounds to signify the erosion of community activities. His paintings also integrate specific West Bengal motifs, including Kolkata’s yellow taxis, street art, the Bengal tiger, and the goddesses Durga and Kali, to ground systemic critiques in regional reality.

Source: The Hindu – Entertainment