Artist seeks to highlight the colour that is running in his blood

Red colour is associated with passion and energy. It brings a certain kind of power and brightness. To give it another interpretation is artist Puneet Kaushik’s exhibition titled “Barren Red” at Gallery Espace, in Delhi, which will be on till December 20. Kaushik gives a different interpretation to the colour red — that of life force, the one that binds all of us together. “I often use red in my art works and it is a universally binding colour. Irrespective of caste, skin colour, religion and language, red is the colour that runs under our skin and I want to highlight that through my work,” says Kaushik.

The exhibition could be divided into three sub-sections. The first is mixed media on canvas. Inspired by the aerial view of the earth and territorial landscape, Kaushik deftly uses his skills to put together his perception of the future. His paintings in mixed media — water colour, acrylic, oil etc — also tried to convey the difficult times we are living in. Violence, terrorism, bloodshed has become a part of daily news, so much so that it doesn’t shock us anymore. We remain mute spectators. Huge blobs of red colour splashed on the canvas with horizontal lines is a reflection of our times. “Like a river of blood, the faith is flowing away from its core. The red that flows under all our skin trickles down to unaccommodating boundaries that divides and distinguishes the self within us,” elucidates Kaushik. “Barren Red” is an attempt towards “landscaping the self”. Just like the skin has veins, and arteries below it, Kaushik believes that there’s a landscape within us.

Taking this thinking forward are art installations where Kaushik has worked with carpet weavers and a 75-year-old factory in Panipat that has experienced carpet weavers and highly skilled craftsmen. Kaushik uses his imagination and the craftsmen’s experience to come up with impactful art pieces. My favourite is a huge mesh of tiny red circles that hangs on a white wall. The folds, the tiny circles resemble the human heart — which has veins, arteries and a complicated network of blood cells. Each circle is playing its part and is crucial for the heart to function normally. Another interpretation could be of a huge tree of life — always alive and full of energy.

Then we have light boxes, which is a technique similar to Andhra Pradesh’s shadow puppet. It uses Japanese paper, which has coffee stains on it. It is dipped in colour and various cards with different patterns are woven into them. Then it is pierced and placed on the light box. Kaushik tries to re-establish techniques on the verge of extinction, which include weaving, knitting, crochet and Tibetan bead-work embellishment. The exhibition showcases the folk and tribal art of various regions of India as it directly transports us back to our roots, but also evokes an urge of knowing the “self”. “I have been working with carpet weavers and painting on canvas but personally, I like the light boxing work,” exclaims Kaushik. If art is inspiring, it is also meditative for Kaushik as “it is a way for me to find peace and my sense of being, my core”.

Although best known for his strong, abstract, primeval artworks, Kaushik has engaged and worked closely with tribal craft practitioners for almost two decades now. He strongly feels that the national identity of India is rooted in its indigenous people and their expressions. With “Barren Red”, Kaushik tries three different things to put his idea across. A common thread runs in all and the fusion remains, but it makes it a coherent unit. Multi-layered installations, paintings and light boxes all shout for your attention.