The art of satire

Brothers and artists Manil and rohit gupta’s latest exhibition ‘Appetite for Revolution’ dabbles in subjects like life and existentialism with a satirical take

Delhi-based brother-artist-duo Manil and Rohit Gupta are back with their second solo exhibition titled “Appetite for Revolution” signaling a huge paradigm shift as far as the very idea of revolution is concerned.

The duo is popular for their experimental art using various media like paintings, photography, sculpture, installation and design. One of their noted work was converting their own car into the popular Public Art Car project called “The Holographic Love Machine”. Talking about the unusual title Manil says, “As always the works are primarily our version of the human existence, spruced up with elements of utopian fantasy and impending doom, all seen through our goggles of dark humour.”

He further adds, “Of late there’s been tremendous upheaval around us like political chaos, social intolerance, impending war scenarios and climatic abuse of our ecosystems, that revolutions seem an inevitable need of the hour to restore sanity to our existence.”

They are known for their crazy, complex paintings that bring together multiple painting styles and subjects both high and low. In this exhibition they are showcasing around 14 large-format works that are graphic and employs visually dense comic narrative. In their new works, they are also experimenting with contextual shapes for canvases, hand-cut into plywood and other materials. “Our work essentially dabbles in issues of life and existentialism as a whole, albeit looked at through fun and satire,” states Manil and adds, “We strongly believe that what we are as individuals must reflect in our art. It’s like living our art. Thus, what we create must be closer to us as issues and ideas that affect our lives.”

According to them they don’t go about looking at their work as a project or formally pick and choose the subjects that might be trending. “We go about what matters to us, comprehensively. We feel strongly about man’s relationship with nature, the surroundings, the ideas of matrix, illusion, the ideas of power, control, the system and our engagement with it. Having said that, we look at our work as a piece of expression which must stimulate its audience, and this is where we create a medley of these ideas, presented with a powerful palette of colours, also keeping in mind that we want to create hope and not despair through our work,” shares Manil.

One of the most recurring images in their work is the eye motif. Their work titled ‘BYOB’ created in 2011 was the first artwork that featured the eye and since then it has evolved with various symbolic references. Manil says, “The eye connotes people, the exploding numbers. We have shown the eye covering various forms as mould, hinting at the parasitical nature of human existence. It also refers to the innumerable-diverse-incompatible perceptions, judgments, intolerant eyes and political watchdogs that dot our lives today.”

When quizzed if they believe that through their work they want to change the outlook of the society, Manil says, “We certainly don’t believe that one piece of canvas can change the world, but we believe that one piece of canvas can definitely stimulate the audience for a moment of introspection, irony or pleasure, and that is what we strive for.”

To make viewers get a better understanding about their working process, the artists have also prepared a behind the scene video for this exhibition. “The idea was to interact with the audience and show them our thought process and flow of work. This makes it easier for viewers to understand the work,” shares Manil.

Going forward they are working on the second season of their TV show The New Creative India. Manil says, “It will explore new cities and a wider genre of creative expression along with showcasing the artists’ journey.”