Explore Vishwa Sahni's powerful artworks on migration, memory, and separation at Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai.
Vishwa Sahni
The dynamics of separation, underlined by an inherent trauma, inform Vishwa Sahni’s works that are at once dramatic and purposeful. It may be in the separation of families, lovers or the colossal migrations that the world is presently mired in, that all inspire Sahni to find rendition on canvas. On cursory viewing, he appears to bring out only the pain and unhappiness that reflect these separations. However, there is a hopefulness when this artist assures us that deep in the heart and soul, there is a binding that even in what seems an adverse situation. The growing fondness in the heart bearing the weight of the separation stays faithful to the memory. The oils are very expressive as those who inhabit his canvas make their presence felt despite the haze they reside in. The haze they reside in screens them, offering a sense of community binding as they huddle together in a shared condition, their existence never diminished.
VENUE:
Jehangir Art Gallery
161-B, M.G. Road
Kala Ghoda, Mumbai 400001
Timing: 11 am to 7 pm
Contact: +91 9324647023
Visthapan
For more than a decade now, artists all over the world have expressed angst and anguish over the growing migration situation. The politics of migration has incessantly inspired all art practitioners, especially artists and poets. It all began in 2011 when more than 14 million Syrians were forced to flee their homes in search of safety from a violent government that had cracked down on the citizens following public demonstrations in support of teenagers who had been arrested for anti-government graffiti. The intense response to dissent and the heightened tensions surrounding freedom of expression resulted in forced migration, often leading to complex challenges such as mental health issues and the need for new protection frameworks. Historically, artists are known to respond naturally to such intense situations using their art to illustrate the degenerating power dynamics of politics, human vulnerability, and border issues.
There is an undeniable arresting power in Sahni’s work. Matured over time, E Sahni has been exploring themes of exodus, displacement, and separation in his work, using an overriding haze obliterating identity to depict and focus on the hardships and experiences of refugee communities. They seem at times to exist within a discreet existence. Their shared journeys become an intimate binding. Family separations are a significant social feature he delves into. However, the decision to re-partner after separation makes his work highlight the complex interplay between displacement and the experience of being separated from one's homeland and living in a no-man’s land situation.
Sixty-one-year-old Sahni moved to Mumbai and has a studio in the northern suburbs. Coming from the bucolic hinterland, away from open pastures in the midst of nature, to a concrete maze, his own migration speaks volumes about adjusting while attempting to establish roots. The route is always lined with the painful pavements of yearning and longing. However, since 2018, he has to his credit several solo exhibitions across the city, participations in group shows and artists’ camps. Migration toughens the body and soul while burying beneath all the anguish of separation and shielding deep within the warmth of the beginnings.
Niyatee Shinde
Art curator, writer and consultant 2025
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