|
 Has
anybody paid attention to the small piece of chemical-tipped
piece of wood that lights a fire. At the exhibition
'Light my Fire' artist Siddarth Tagore
has paid the necessary attention to the negligible
object. Perhaps one would dismiss an empty matchbox
as a useless thing. But for Tagore it is more than
mere cardboard with some designs embossed on it. It
is rather shown as power and creation.
Certainly it is surprising that how could one define
a thing of destruction with creativity. It is not
just a mere show of matchboxes and match sticks but
every creative display has a hidden meaning. Behind
the destructive source lies a history of creation.
Rather, his paintings portray how man invents things
for his convenience and uses it for his own destruction.
There are displays of various matchboxes covers since
the time when matchsticks were invented. Obviously
one can see the colourful displays of match covers
with various designs on them from around the world.
Besides the variant exhibition of various matches,
Siddarth Tagore has elucidated there purpose in his
paintings.
 There
is a distinct disparity between the the use of his
jarring colours and the harsh nature of the object
he is describing. His pallete consists of mostly bright
orange, yellow and red. They seem to illuminate the
work of the match sticks. It is in congruence with
the positive attitude, which his paintings depict.
They represent some sort of peace with the destructive
force. With yellow and orange as the backgrounds,
he has used the subtleness of natural objects on the
foreground. The use of figures like dove and rays
of the sun represent the illuminated qualities of
the matches.
 Besides
the paintings, Tagore has used the matches to give
three-dimensional effect to his paintings. He has
accomplished this by using matchsticks of various
sizes. Even certain wooden art pieces have been merged
with the matches and given a new meaning. Certainly
the exhibition amazes one at the creativity of the
artist to exalt something so small and ignorable to
the zenith of creation.
The exhibition is held at: 1, Hauz Khas village,
Art Konsult.
- Avni Sood
|
3:18:33 PM 
