Paresh Hazra’s new show marries the apple and the lotus — two seemingly unconnected motifs — in works that take you from lust to stillness

Bangalore-based artist Paresh Hazra has no problems creating a series. But it is the first painting that is like the “birth of a child”, filled with its share of joy and pain. It was the same with his new series The Apple and the Lotus that is now on display in the city, which had its inception in the sight of lotus blooms in a pond at his studio in Shantiniketan late last year. “I knew I had to capture the sight,” he says.

“After having been an artist for over 40 years, one tends to make connections and narratives,” he adds. “What becomes important is the composition of the story I want to tell.” His first painting came to being after his storyboard had connected the dots between a lotus and an apple. “Yes,” he laughs, “it was a combination that made sense.” His first painting of the series was done there and although there are 19 paintings in all, that particular painting remains conspicuously absent from the display.

It is in the possession of his second daughter, artist Aditi Hazra. “I will give my daughters paintings instead of dowry,” he says in a jocular vein. In fact, he has always discussed his ideas with his wife and two daughters. “I tell them all my thoughts before starting off with a series. When they are bad, my daughter threatens to take me to Brigade Road to see some beautiful girls.” His older daughter, a scientist in the US, joins in the discussions via the Internet.

The story for the series found approval with them. The Apple and the Lotus symbolises several metaphors. Adam and Eve ate the apple and were banished from Paradise. Eating the forbidden fruit, according to Hazra, denotes an evil mind. “With atrocities on women happening frequently, the eating of the fruit symbolises the evil acts.” Another metaphor is to connect the “aesthetically pleasing” apple with the female form. By showing it on his canvases without the complete identity, he feels that the body can be depicted as a site of victimisation. The apple in his paintings becomes a symbol of desire, lust and unbridled temptations, he explains.

The lotus started out as a symbol of peace, but by combining it with the apple, he hopes to depict the period of stillness that comes after any action. “After every action, there comes a period of silence, of absolute tiredness and disconnect — which is what the lotus is connected with. After all, even if you are quarrelling, how long can you quarrel? You have to be quiet a little later,” Hazra expostulates. And so the unlikeliest of symbols become strange bedfellows.

Hazra has seldom made just one single painting — it has always been a series, like storytelling. One scene follows the other in rapid succession. In this case, it took painting all day, every day, for three-four months in his studio, to complete the series. The apple series is done in charcoal whereas the lotus series is done in the medium of old egg tempera. He acknowledges, “I don’t go out much. I don’t socialise. I paint in my studio and remain in it like a prisoner.”

Hazra is already preparing for his next stint in Shantiniketan, where he plans to begin his new series. The idea, he says, came to him when he was helping his wife cook his favourite meal of fish. Fodder for some more unlikely themes? Certainly.

The Lotus and the Apple, till Dec 30, 11 am – 7 pm, at Gallery Time and Space, 

source: http://www.bangaloremirror.com / Bangalore Mirror / Home> Entertainment> Lounge / by Jayanthi Madhukar, Bangalore Mirror Bureau / December 16th, 2013