Hyderabad, october 11: One of the most amazing aspects of art is the fact that it can break boundaries and join people together irrespective of their differences. The Iconart gallery took the initiative of bringing together people of diverse backgrounds into a common place of artistic celebration and contemplation.
The recent art workshop held at the Central Jail, Cherlapalli, was curated by Lipika Rao, who left no stone unturned in making the event a complete success.
As a part of the workshop, artists and prison inmates worked together to create paintings. Initially when the artists reached the jail they could sense a restraint and stiffness in the attitudes of the inmates. Eventually both parties warmed to each other.
The participating artists are Manguirish Rajadhyax, Masuram Ravikant, Sridhar Rao, Pavan Kumar, Rayees Ahmed, Bhaskar, Jayaprakash, Avani Rao, Srikant Dunde and Shiva Rama Chary. For the artists, the experience of interacting and guiding the jail inmates was overwhelming, and in a good way. Some of the artists came up with intense portraits of the jail inmates, strong in character and intensity.
A total of 80-90 jail inmates participated in the camp. They came up with various forms which reinstated their background and personal experiences. Some of them had never handled a paintbrush, and yet they had a good time with the colours and paper for the whole day. Some inmates of agricultural background painted familiar figures like bulls and cocks, others relaxed in the warm remembrance of their family members as they painted them with undeterred concentration. One inmate, who works as a kitchen-in-charge in the jail, painted an abstract work which contained vessels of various shapes and sizes.
In a rendezvous with art that lasted only a single day, the inmates thoroughly gained a sense of vacation and celebration.
The day unfolded to them and to the other participants of the workshop the very crux life and existence — that no matter how tough the present times, it is always good to imagine, create and cultivate life towards a positive attitude. And what else could be a better form of attainment of peace than art practice.
Art, which keeps the mind occupied, busy and distracted brings peace and happiness to the mind and helps one come out of hardships and troubles.
By the end of the workshop, each inmate had a smile on his face. This expressions of happiness lifted the spirits of the artists and volunteers, who brought back from jail a bundle of memories to cherish forever.
–Agencies