Genesis of creative impulse

Bolla Srinivasa Reddy talks about his solo expo of drawings and sculptures titled ‘Swayambhu’

Bolla Srinivas Reddy is presenting his latest exhibition titled ‘Swayambhu’ at Kalakriti Art Gallery. It opened on November 1.

About his title he says, “It does not stand for a mere self-existence but refers to a womb or an egg as the cause of all objects or creations. The title refers to the Sanskrit phrase ‘svayam bhavati asti iti svayambhuh’, which confirms birth from a golden egg (hiranya garbha) or a universal germ. Rig Veda elucidates the aspect of self-manifestation, where the creator of the universe manifested Himself before initiating the creation of the whole world and infusing life into all sorts of things under the sun. Also, according to Matsya Purana, the swayambhu, as a form beyond senses, entered into the egg when everything else was static.”

The exhibition comprises various drawings, sculptures and paintings. His artwork shows a kind of spontaneity, exploring the very possibilities in a flux of art practice while prying for an innovative visual dialect. In the very flux, Reddy acknowledges and overlooks the significance of metamorphoses of forms, which inevitably results into a greater manifestation not only in terms of sheer ideological aspect but also in terms of making art.

“I created all this over a period of time, and it does not hold any curatorial ambition as such, but falls into a perspective of individual thought process and metamorphoses of mediums and the nuances of artistic impulses at a given condition,” the artist said.

At the exhibition one can find pen and ink drawings as well as paintings on canvas. The canvases are also textured with multiple layers of tinted colours, where the figures appear in the most basic structure of human form, like ancient cave drawings.

The consistent depiction of the human heads in his artworks explicitly points at the importance of the mind as a gatherer of knowledge and the face as an identity. The theme of identity is further explored, and prompts the artist’s inquisitiveness with the concept of existence. ‘Swayambhu’ can also be seen as an independent entity, wherein a creator deals with his existence on his own accord and identity.

Thus, Reddy’s visual idiom can be seen as a Darwinian evolution or continuation of his previous series based on mushrooms and fully grown, elongated corporeal bodies, which are now simplified into ‘heads’ and seem to emerge out of their shells, experiencing mundane life and questioning their own existence.

The other set of bronze heads placed beside each other stand tall, conversing and conspiring with the spectator. Each one having a unique expression also has metaphoric imagery incised and textured onto their surfaces. The hefty egg shaped heads, often facing upward, by and large represent the initiation of the core of the world. Whereas his intricate drawings narrate his everyday experiences.

The exhibition will be on till November 14 from 11 am to 7 pm at Kalakriti Art Gallery, Banjara Hills.